A Single Mission
by Cerulean Dust
Summary: A single stupid mission. That's all it took to unravel every careful effort they made towards keeping up their professional lives and boundaries. That's all it took to teeter the first domino. Kakashi and Sakura (post fourth shinobi war)
1. Chapter 1: The First Steps Away

A/N: italics font means a flash into the past (or thoughts, if its just one or two sentences).

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

**The First Steps Away**

* * *

><p>She rubbed her wrists absentmindedly, a tell tale habit she couldn't quite kick yet.<p>

"So are we good?" Kakashi probed politely enough, "If you...want, we can go to Tsunade together and try to either drop you or me from the mission-"

"_Yes_ okay, old man? Now stop poking the fucking bear."

He laughed softly and watched as the girl looked anywhere, but at him.

Sakura had nearly jumped out of her skin when Kakashi called out to her on the street that afternoon. He waved her over and ordered their usually set of dango at Dangoya, as if amnesia ate away last month from his memories. In her shocked state, she played along mutely. If he could be so perfectly detached, so could she. But of course, on the inside, she bristled and jittered and panicked.

"Good," he mused, watching her chew the glutinous dumplings.

The fat silence that followed sat smugly between them. Kakashi broke first.

**"**Well," he said abruptly, "I'll see you tomorrow then. Don't be late."

He winked as she snorted and left with his hands shoved in his pockets. The wooden skewer slanted limply in her hand and she stopped chewing. That asshat. Of course she didn't want to go on a mission with him. But what she loathed more was the patronizing way-out he gave her, as if she was still the weak, heartbroken girl with dainty pink locks and overly bright eyes.

She abandoned the dango and just sat back in her seat, wringing and rubbing her wrists. She had hoped he would put up a longer fight. It was a hell of an awkward conversation, but honestly, Sakura missed him more than anything. It wasn't just her little girl crush, it was the simple need to be around the anchor that she unconsciously made him again.

* * *

><p>"I mean, would it kill him to be on time for just this once?" she muttered, gazing longingly at the village gates.<p>

The blonde jinchuuriki sat equally unhappy beside her, drawing lazy circles in the dirt. Beside them, a pale-skinned shinobi stood in soldier stance, his face completely blank, though he sighed inwardly.

"He didn't even bother telling us what the mission even is! How the hell does he expect us to know what to pack and stuff? Why must he be so damn selfish, lazy, stupi-"

"stupendous and godly?" A cheerful voice called out. "You flatter me, Sakura." The silver-haired jounin waved a hand matched by his signature crinkly eyed smile.

"About time Kakashi-sensei, we thought that you died," Naruto exclaimed, absent-mindedly rubbing his neck.

"Yes, we were deeply worried about your well-being," echoed Sai with a fake smile sealed on his lips.

Kakashi smiled back at the boys with equal enthusiasm and took out the mission scroll. He examined the scroll through one lazy eye and then abruptly closed it again. With another crinkly eyed smile he started to march off into the forest.

"By the way, I hope you all brought enough stuff to last about a few weeks."

"..."

Just two days ago, the very same grey haired man bribed them into a 'very relaxing 3 day mission.'

Happily, Kakashi continued to stroll towards the forest. Submissively, the three musketeers followed behind his footsteps. The day itself was nice enough though. Cotton white clouds settled on a gorgeous cerulean sky as the occasional winged mammal flew by. The strong scent of earthy wood was heavy in the air; it was a miracle worker for angry/glum souls.

"So where is it that we are going?" Naruto spoke up.

"Somewhere far, far away," Kakashi responded mysteriously. The pains of being teamed up with a cryptic man.

Sakura sighed loudly. Sai could only look away.

* * *

><p>"<em>They'll find out eventually."<em>

"_I know," Kakashi said, suddenly calm again, "I'll deal with it."_

"_...yes, of course."_

_Kakashi pressed the scroll into Sai's hands and gazed up at the sky._

_He creased his eyes in a familiar smile and said, "Take this for now. I'm going to inform Naruto and Sakura, and I don't want that on me when I do."_

_Sai bowed and started to walk away. He unraveled the scroll and scanned through it. Perhaps it really was for the best of the former team 7. He looked at the spot where Kakashi was a minute ago. It was then when Sai realized just how many secrets Kakashi must have carried._

_He decided to saunter back to the street where the art store dwelled. On the opposite side, a few stores down, a new grill opened up. Kakashi said himself not to think too much of the mission. Perhaps he'd even look for Kiba and the others for a nice lunch together. Shino too, of course, because Sai felt a strange connection to him, both being socially awkward and all._

_Lost in thought, Sai didn't notice the jonin slink away in the shadows._

_Naruto and Sakura didn't notice him appear either._

_They were sitting side by side on the skinny stools in front of Ichiraku. The blonde was slurping down ramen and the pinkette could only stare, amused._

_"Pupils," Kakashi manifested suddenly, casually wringing an arm around Naruto._

_He almost chocked on his noodles in surprise._

_"Sens-"_

_"I've got a mission for the two of you," he continued happily, unconcerned with the teen in an orange jumpsuit, "Tsunade insisted that team 7 would be the best match for it."_

_Sakura stared studiously at the menu in front of her. She kept silent and allowed Naruto to do all the talking._

_"Just for us?" Naruto repeated, awe-struck._

_Kakashi nodded, smiling. The grin was so fake to Sakura. She could see it._

_"It's a nice and easy mission. Meet in two days at noon, by the gates, alright?"_

_"Great," Naruto grinned._

_The whole time, Sakura watched Teuchi boil the noodles, dipping the beige strands in and out of the simmering water. She couldn't get farther enough away from him, but she didn't want to seem weak. She'd just have to grit her teeth and push through it. What ever the hell 'it' was. Sakura wasn't going to let it show how much their severance still affected her when Kakashi obviously came out unscathed._

* * *

><p>After a few water breaks, the squad finally arrived at the edge of a village, a village hardly big enough to be called a village. Small, yet sturdy houses were clustered on one side while a few lone shops stood on the other. It was like the whole village had one main street (the great divide) with mini avenues that sprouted out from it. The tallest (and frankly the seemingly oldest) building had a cliché blinking, red neon sign that spelled out 'Motel.' Said motel was also where Kakashi was headed for.<p>

"Never seen this place before," Sakura murmured suspiciously. Not a lot of people wandered around the streets and even fewer looked...hygienic.

"It's the Village of Wheat." Kakashi said softly.

Naruto snorted at the pompous name and Sakura wondered if her sensei was making all of this up as they went. Kakashi continued to lead the way to the motel. After securing two rooms (one for the boys and one for Sakura), the team said their good nights and retired to their rooms.

A healthy chunk of the night already passed by the time Sakura surrendered to the fact that mind wasn't shutting off any time soon. So instead she dragged her sorry self to the hotel's twenty-four-seven gift shop. What kind of gift shop opens twenty hours a day?

"What kind of store opens up all day," Kakashi mused, announcing his entrance.

Sakura immediately stiffened at the voice behind her. She ignored him and kept pretending to look at the stationary section. She willed him to leave her alone.

"Are you not sleeping again?" he asked softly, oblivious.

"Leave me alone," She mumbled, turning her head around enough for a glare.

Kakashi's face showed nothing, which only infuriated her even more.

She paused for a second and said as an afterthought, "I thought you didn't feel obliged to look after me anymore."

He ignored her question and just studied her.

"And I thought you said you were okay going on a mission with me."

"I fucking am. Stop reading so much into things."

During the way here, she thought that everything was back to normal again. She was able to joke, and Naruto and Sai didn't suspect a thing. Kakashi either, for that matter. But when they were alone, that asshole had to go and fuck things up again by dragging out all those memories she was trying to forget.

This time when she brushed him off, he was not amused anymore.

"I don't think this is healthy, Sakura," He said uncomfortably.

"And apparently I'm just not healthy for you either right?" she retorted.

Kakashi shifted and looked at the pen she was fiddling with.

She stopped and looked into his eye, "Look, I got your memo. I'll stay away."

She wordlessly stepped away from him, purchased the pen and left.

* * *

><p>Morning come, Sakura slipped into the boys' room. She got maybe an hour of sleep before a chirpy Naruto obnoxiously rapped her door until she threw a kunai at it.<p>

"Glad you could join us today," Kakashi said, somewhat despondent sounding. For once, he simply could not be late as always; to be on time for him was a strange feeling. Whether it was pleasant or not was still up in the air.

Sakura nodded absentmindedly and situated herself beside Sai, mainly because Naruto's hyper-ness was edging towards inhuman. Sai in return flashed her a coy smile and switched his dead eyes back to Kakashi.

"As I was saying, the mission is more complicated than we originally thought it would be," Kakashi explained, "We are only staying here for about another day or so and then moving on to our new destination."

"Why did we waste money on a hotel then?" Sakura inquired, "If we aren't doing anything here, sleeping in the woods like we always did would have been just fine."

"We needed to be seen, Sakura."

A slow, sick feeling churned in her stomach. Silenced ensured for a couple of minutes and Sakura dimly made a mental note to herself that the presents would have to wait till later. Then, she decided to test the waters again.

"Why?"

Kakashi rubbed his tired eyes and sighed deeply.

"I can't tell you," he said flatly.

Not one of them knew what the task was... when Kakashi had came to them, all three of them accepted easily since they were, after all, _still _on the same team.

Things after the Fourth Great Shinobi War were chaotic and messy; no one really knew how to get back onto their feet. Even though Naruto played a big part in fighting for Konoha, technically, he was still a mere genin. Sakura and Sai though, managed to snatch the title of chunin while Naruto was away training. So to come to think of it, it was like the two years of war never happened and Naruto, Sakura and Sai were assigned back to Kakashi, much to his delight (more sources of money he can eat and then leave the bill with). Luckily though, Naruto entered the chunin exams and out of all the younger, wide eyed children, passed.

Now, they were back to the good old days, trying to repay Konoha's war debts by running themselves into the ground with missions.

So to have been his student for about 6 years now, Sakura knew when his buttons were being pushed. She was walking on a minefield this time, but the all-consuming curiosity on what exactly was under all those mines was killing her.

"Why not?" Sakura stated abruptly.

Kakashi looked at her squarely and before she could turn away, she caught the look on his face, the type that told her that she pressed another wrong button. Scratching a nonexistent itch on her arm, she gazed at Sai and Naruto for some sort of guidance. They seemed as clueless as she did.

"Ok, whatever, I don't really care," Sakura said.

Kakashi sighed another elderly sigh and Naruto continued to pick at a scab. Sai was testing out different smiles to a mirror behind Kakashi. The one that showed teeth came off more menacing than welcoming. It was safe to say that no one took the mission too seriously.

They should have though, because in the next second, a kunai made its way into the window and straight through Sai's gut.

* * *

><p>Water droplets gathered on her eyelashes. The rain was a heavy sprinkle, the type that wasn't angry and fierce, but simply exhausted. All this could have summed up Sakura's emotions right now if she was conscious.<p>

Instead, she was lying on her chest with her hands around her face and legs sprawled in weird angles. Underneath her rag doll body were a few slippery, moss-covered roots attached to a Douglas Fir that swayed gently above her. In fact, the entire forest was filled with these trees, stretching along the wet, muddy grounds, untouched by humans.

Well, except for one odd body who just happened to be treading through the forest's undergrowth when he saw the awfully out-of-place pink hair with a slight frown on his face. Fortunately for Sakura, he was a kindhearted man with an overly big guilt conscience.

The traveler spent the next hour or so trying to somehow carry her back home with him. He sighed, brushing back his dark hair and lifted her up.

* * *

><p>"Who the fuck are you?"<p>

That was the first thing Sakura said to her lovely saviour who leaned back on his chair beside her bed (guest room). With her hair a mangled mess and massive bags beneath her eyes, the scowl planted on her dainty features completed the look.

"You're welcome for not letting you wither away in the woods," he replied dryly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"..." Long pause. "_What?"_

"I _said, _you're-"

"No, no, no, I'm not deaf, geez," Sakura casually brushed him off. She squinted at him and suddenly, the fogginess was began to wear off. The fact that she had someone to squint at was unsettling. Then, she snapped.

She bolted upright, sprang from the bed and onto a nearby table (kitchen table) with one hand that steadied her and the other feeling the places where she hid needles and kunais; it was the standard reaction system.

She had her legs folded into a neat crouch, tense and ready to leap and run any second. Her eyes were narrowed onto the dark haired target, but her ears open to any other possible movements from elsewhere. She did a quick scan of the area, memorizing possible weapons' pinpoints and potential exits.

The man, on the other hand was simply baffled.

He gaped at her. "Paranoid, much?"

_In the motel, Sakura was tired of waiting. _"_Ok, whatever, I don't really care," she said. Kakashi sighed. The sky was blue, the clouds so comically fluffy white so what in the world could go wrong? It was safe to say that no one took the mission too seriously. They should have though, because in the next second, a kunai made its way into the window and straight through Sai's gut._

Sakura shook her head and said, "Where have you brought me to? Who are you? Are you part of a-"

"Who do you take me for?" he interrupted incredulously. "Here I am, helping you crawl away from the brink of death, _nursing_ you back to health and the second you are conscious, you bombard me like this?"

The girl had gathered up her saliva while he was ranting and was about to spit out a glob of slime onto his face as means of escape (and honestly to entertain herself) when a bumbling old, plump woman pushed the door open.

"Good morning, sweetheart," she said cheerfully, bringing in a bread basket.

"I don't suppose you think my grandma is part of this master murder plan." he snapped.

"What..." Sakura said, loosening her stance.

"Yeah, we also waited until you were awake to kill you."

Sakura's eyes went blank for a moment.

_They streamed in from the window, following after the kunai they threw. Naruto growled and Kakashi stepped in front of her, thin streams of blood running down his arm. He turned around for a split second and mouthed something before a hand found it's way around Kakashi's throat._

He quirked his mouth to the side and eyed Sakura with his unnerving icy pupils, waiting to see if she would lay down her arms. She paused for a long while and sighed loudly, slowly straightening up to an awkward standing position on the table.

"I'm...Sakura," she said uneasily with a leap off the table. If they plotted to kill her, she'd already be dead.

"Kazuo," he responded softly, shoulders drooping in defeat.

"_SAI!" the voice screamed, piercing the morning air._

_Blood flowed freely from his white stomach, staining the floor and the fingers...her fingers. She was shaking, they were screaming and someone was yelling desperately for her to run._

_Run Sakura, run...please please please..._

_Sai wouldn't look at her. He wouldn't look anywhere. It's hard to tell if he even can anymore._

_Run Sakura_

_Flashes of yellow and orange filled the room, growling and bursting with energy._

_Run Sakura_

_To see him like that was broke her apart. It was like a knife carving agonizingly deep slits into her chest. He flitted around the room, fighting and ravaging. She couldn't even approach him after what happened between the two of them._

_Run Sakura_

_She could see the pink swollen flesh of Sai's stomach._

"Guhh," Sakura gasped loudly, bolting upright from her sweat soaked sheets.

The night was still pitch black and her heart pounded in a maniac-like rhythm. She pressed her hands to her temples and squeezed her eyes shut, willing that warmth away from her eyes. Shinobi can't show emotions. Sakura curled up into a ball and allowed her shoulders shake silently, so focused on keeping herself locked up she didn't notice the man leaning on the other side of the wall, listening to every shudder and breath she choked out.

_She just got one glimpse of those lovely dark eyes before she was pushed out the window and allowed her legs to carry her as far away as she could go._

* * *

><p>When she got up that morning, a sweet scent wafted into her room. She had let her nose guide her out of bed and out the door in all her bedhead hair and wrinkle-clothed glory. The sunlight outside was blinding so she didn't notice the thing – <em>man, <em>in front of her until it made a strangled sound when she bumped into it.

"Watch where you are going," it said, the voice still thick with sleep.

She looked up to see an irritated pair of light eyes staring back at her. Suddenly, it softened.

"Are you okay, brat?"

"Why?" She sneered.

"Its just that...you look like.."

She froze and narrowed her eyes at him.

The tense silence of Sakura glaring at Kazuo and Kazuo pretending to be fascinated by his shoes was interrupted by a brisk knock on the door.

Curiosity got the better of her as she released Kazuo from her angry spell. She followed him as he practically skipped to the door.

"Good morning," an all too familiar voice spoke, "I'm here to pick up something."

Sakura visibly paled. Her chest clenched painfully and her knees felt like gelatin. Of all of the people in the world, why did it have to be him?

"_What?" _Kazuo stuttered as Kakashi charismatically invited himself into the house.

As soon as she caught his eye, Sakura felt a flood of relief mixed with hesitation. The air stiffened and their movements were rigid; the last time they met seemed to be at death's door and it was a miracle that Sakura only gave a small twitch instead of a dramatic outcry at the sight of him. However strong she was, Sakura's eyes still started to sting and Kakashi's lazy eye widened slightly in alarm. Quickly, he turned to Sakura and gave her a big bear hug.

"I've been looking for you everywhere!" He sang out.

Squeezing her tighter, he whispered, "Where is your stuff, we've got to get out of here."

Sakura was still shell-shocked at the sudden contact, but finally regained herself when Kakashi made a subtle poke at her waist. She hesitantly lifted her arms around his neck and buried her nose in the crook of his neck. He didn't smell _good _exactly as she doubted he took a leisurely shower before coming, but, just warm, musky and...familiar. Safe.

"First room to the left. Stall him and I'll go get it," she mumbled back. Then, taking a deep breath, Sakura said, "Oh gee, I've missed you a lot!" awkwardly.

Kazuo stood quietly beside them, bemused by the two of them.

"I take it that you know this man," he said, looking down at his sandals. For some reason, he seemed disappointed.

"Yes, he is an...acquaintance of mine. Kakashi, Kazuo, Kazuo, Kakashi," she said, rudely dropping the honorifics. Kazuo, though, took that as a sign of closeness instead of spite.

Sakura slipped out from between them and crept back to her room. She wasted no time in packing what meager things she still had on her, her newly washed sweater she was wearing the day before and a few rolls of bread she snuck into her room early last night for a midnight snack. The small pile of stuff looked too pitiful so she also took a towel. Her chunin vest she had on when they were ambushed was nowhere to be seen; there was not enough time to look for it though. Satisfied, she stuffed everything under one arm and used the other to hoist her out the window.

"...are no longer coming out, but the originals are still very good. The detail in them is amazing and it'll make you feel as if you were the main character himself," Kakashi continued blabbing to an uncomfortable, red-faced Kazuo, "I think the best one to start with would be Icha Icha-" he stopped suddenly when he caught a glimpse of pink flashing into the trees.

"Oh, look, a mosquito," Kakashi said abruptly, pointing into the kitchen.

Though it screamed, 'TRAP,' Kazuo still turned around and said, "What?"

When he turned back, the pervy man had no doubt already disappeared.

* * *

><p>There were no tremendous teary eyed exchanges or even a single second of eye contact. As soon as she saw him heading towards her, she didn't stop and wait for him; Sakura kept on leaping from tree to tree, lips sealed and brows furrowed. She kept on racing through the forest while Kakashi cautiously kept at least a few feet behind her.<p>

It was when she was drenched in sweat and her muscles felt painfully strained did Sakura land on the ground instead of another scarred, russet branch. Kakashi landed a few metres behind her with his shoulders casually slumped and hands dug deep in his pants pockets. His eye was heavily lidded but he patiently stood there and waited for Sakura to say or do something; anything.

He expected her to turn around and scream at him despite the fact that he just saved her. They were alone and she didn't need to pretend anymore. She hated his guts. He knew that. Sakura knew he knew too. It was always there in her eyes, simmering and threatening to morph into something more disgusting and sinister. Naruto and Sai were his shield, but there was nothing stopping her now.

Sakura quickly covered the distance between them and lashed out her hand. It didn't slap across his face though. Instead, it snaked its way around Kakashi's and pulled it against her quivering mouth. Her bangs obscured her face, but Kakashi could _see _her shaking and feel her vibrating against his hand. Sakura's hands were cold and her lips were chapped against his fingers. Nonetheless, she still clenched onto Kakashi's fingers in a death grip, and left small, crescent shaped imprints into his skin with her fingernails, but he didn't care.

For once in his life, he was at a loss of words. The war made him forget just how much heart Sakura putted into everything, into everyone. He forgot that the hellishly strong woman in front of him wasn't made of rock.

"Sakura."

She held onto his hand tighter.

It was wrong of him and he'd hate himself later, but slowly, he pulled her towards him with his free arm and allowed Sakura to continue crying silently against him. He enjoyed the scent of her hair too much for his own good, but for the moment, it was okay. Besides, they were human. And humans always make mistakes.


	2. Chapter 2: Where Have You Gone?

**Chapter 2**

**Where Have You Gone?**

* * *

><p>The magic only lasted for so long before awkwardness swooped in and killed the moment. When her heart stopped beating so painfully fast and she could smell through her stuffed, sniffling nose again, she realized how uncomfortably bizarre her actions were. Here Sakura stood with her sensei's right hand forcefully jammed against her mouth. The sensei himself was awkwardly hunched over her in a one-armed hug, scared to move and startle the swollen-eyed girl.<p>

Sakura held her breath and didn't dare budge. Various excuses flashed through her mind, but they all seemed laughable and desperate. Instead, she opted for the most efficient method; ignorance. Just as suddenly as she reached out for his hand, she dropped it and hastily looked away, edging away from him discreetly. She tried to clear her throat, but it came out as a strangled gurgle instead. God, why was she born such a weird child?

Kakashi watched pitifully as Sakura tried to internally push all those mushy feelings back into her ribcage. To ease away her embarrassment, he tried to change the subject and forget the whole ordeal. The..._nail _prints on his hands weren't really helping though.

"We can take a short break here or continue on. It'll be about maybe 3 or 4 more hours until the sun-"

"Where's Naruto and Sai?" Sakura asked suddenly, in a quiet voice. It was killing her to know ever since only Kakashi showed up at the door. Both of them knew the question really meant to ask if they were still alive.

He gave her a gentle glance and then craned his neck skywards, watching the tallest tips of the trees sway lazily against the wind. Sakura kept her arms across her chest as if she could physically stop his answer from hurting her.

"I don't know."

She turned her head the other way. A beetle was flipped onto its back, it's legs flailing helplessly in the air.

"I brought my fight out to the roof. When I got back to our room, they were both gone."

"Are you going to tell me what's going on _now_?" she said with strain.

He ran a hand through his hair and settled his back against a nearby tree. He slid down and rested his elbows against his knees, his feet loosely planted onto the ground.

"The aftermath of a war isn't always pretty. War debts are incredibly high and the number of casualties are stifling. Even though we were able to stand united for a while', the allied shinobi force was sure to fall apart as soon as the war was over."

"I know all that," Sakura said with frustration, "I'm living through this 'aftermath' too, remember?"

"As I was saying," Kakashi continued unfazed, "with all of them dead, there's no one to push all the anguish and blame to. Since ties between the hidden villages were already strained and roughly patched in time for war, it was easy for them to break and old suspicions to arise again. The phase after a war is as tense as the beginning. The first few weeks of a war is like the eye of a storm."

"Your _point_? I don't give a damn about your life philosophies; I just want to know what we are doing here."

He sighed. Again. He seemed to be doing that more and more. It made him sound incredibly old.

"I was getting there. Be a little more patient."

Sakura scowled. Kakashi shook his head.

"As I was saying, people are paranoid and desperate. Some villages are relighting old feuds and others initiating new ones. If the enemy is dead, then the only people left to turn against are your allies. Konoha too-"

"I'm going to die and get reincarnated 100 times before you finish..." Sakura grumbled.

"_Konoha too,_" Kakashi emphasized, ignoring her remark, "is like that. Even Tsunade-sama can't stop mob mentality. People need something to blame to help them sleep at night...and I think you have a pretty good idea what or who is the scapegoat."

She flinched. It was cruel, but Kakashi had to say it. They were suppose to be professionals, after all. Sakura didn't realize that though.

"_Bullshit._ Is this your twisted way of trying to talk to me? By secretly _eluding _to him and hoping I fall for the bait like some pathetic fool? Why the fuck don't you just say his name?" Sakura said in a low voice. It was laced with venom and poorly contained contempt.

Kakashi saw it coming, but for a while, he had forgotten all about the rhythmic ticking of the timer.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

He looked up at the quivering kuniochi from his position against a tree. She gripped her fists a little harder. Flustered, she sank to the ground and dug her fingers into the soil. They were no longer talking about the mission.

"You don't get it and I thought we agreed not to bring it up..." she murmured, shaking her head. She sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

Kakashi didn't say anything. He tried to talk to her before at the motel, but that just ended up with a door slammed in his face. Now that they were finally getting somewhere, he wasn't sure he even wanted to continue.

"And _you," _she started again, accusingly, "How could you do that? I needed someone, I needed...I..."

Bits of her impassive composure flaked off. She bit her lip and looked at her caked, grubby fingernails; they were lined with dirt. Kakashi kept his steady gaze fixed on her.

"How could you turn a blind eye on _me_?" Sakura whimpered at last.

There it was.

Sakura hated herself for being this weak though. She was always the lovestruck, flimsy girl with pink hair that lived in the shadow of her notorious teammates and teacher. She had to work herself to the bone, absorbing as much as Tsunade was willing to teach her so that _maybe _she could stand as tall as the rest of her team. She hardened her fists and kept herself proud and sturdy. Yet she was still _weak. _Sensitive. Overly humane.

"What was I suppose to do?" He answered softly. "If you were 12 years old then I could've lent you my shoulder. But you're 18 now, Sakura. You can't rest your weight on others."

He paused.

"You get too attached to easily. Take him, for example. Look what it led to."

Kakashi raised his left hand, the one without the Sakura-inflicted prints. It was roughly bandaged with white strands but muddy, cardinal blood still bled through it. She closed her eyes and the image popped up again, as unwilling as Sakura was.

_Naruto growled and Kakashi stepped in front of her, thin streams of blood running down his arm. His fist was closed around a pale hand containing a kunai that jutted out from the back of Kakashi's hand. A second later and that weapon would have landed in her chest. He turned around for a split second and mouthed something before a hand with the same pale skin tone found it's way around Kakashi's throat. Sakura snapped out of it and rushed forward with her fists._

"Thanks for blocking that blow for me, by the way, if that's what you were looking for," she said sarcastically.

"That's not my point, Sakura," Kakashi said, irritated. "Do you think he hesitated to attack you?"

_He leapt back, just outside of Sakura's reach. To see him like that broke her apart. It was like a knife carving agonizingly deep slits into her chest. He flitted around the room, fighting savagely. She couldn't even approach him after what happened between the two of them. But he could. And he did. He knew he was her weakness and didn't waste time by finding his place back beside her again. His eyes, crimson and cold, narrowed onto her, the target. Sakura was told time and time again to not look in his eyes. God knows what the sharingan can do, but she couldn't help it._

"Well, he didn't," Kakashi carried on before Sakura could inject with an excuse for him, "He tried to kill you _twice_ and both times I had to save you."

"You pushed me out of a window," she lamely accused him.

"Because Sasuke was about to stab you," he shot back, "._..again._ I didn't want you to die and all, but I wasn't going to put my hand through the same misery twice. Besides, you were a sitting duck back there at the motel; you were doing more harm than good."

She huffed and scrunched up her nose at him. One thing kept spilling onto the next. Sakura couldn't even remember what they were arguing about in the beginning. She was frustrated with him, but on some level, he was right. Just for once.

"I'm tired," she said suddenly, immediately regretting sounding so helpless and childlike.

The sun had barely gone down and they still had to find Sai and Naruto. Kakashi finally lifted himself off the ground and patted down his pants. He placed a hand on his waist and then let it fall into a fist by his side.

"We've got to go a little farther first. Don't want to waste daylight now, do we?"

Just mentioning Sasuke hurt Sakura. Kakashi really couldn't bring himself to tell her their objective. He'd have to think of another way.

Sakura wondered if the cackles of a fire were actually screams from the charred wood.

"Aren't you going to eat?" he asked gently, and pointed to her roasted fish-on-a-stick with a twig.

She shrugged and resumed observing the fireplace.

He knew that at some point, he had to finish telling her about their mission, but the night seemed so warm that he wanted to stretch out this moment for as long as he could. He'll tell her. Eventually. Instead, he surveyed their makeshift campsite, looking for anything to trigger a conversation.

They were situated in an open space big enough to fit queen sized bed. It was hidden in a grove of trees which was part of the same forest they have traveled in for the better part of the day. There was also a stream near by that was close enough to be heard, but not seen. Kakashi and Sakura sat side by side (though Sakura didn't bother disguising the fact that she leaned as far away as she could from him) in front of a small fire surrounded by stones. Nature, however soothing, didn't seem to excite Sakura very much, so he continued to sought for anything else to ramble about. His eyes landed on the bulge in her pocket.

"What's that?" he asked and nodded his chin towards it.

She looked up at him and reached into her pocket. Her eyes widened slightly and a new wave of dolefulness rolled off her. She pulled out her hand and held it out to him. It was a thin, unspoilt brush with a simple carving of leaves on the side.

"It was for Sai," she muttered.

Oh great...very smooth Kakashi.

"I also got a carton of milk for Naruto too...but I think I left it at the granny's place," she added.

Kakashi's eyebrows drew together slightly and asked, "Who were they, by the way? I didn't question you at first because they let you spend the night, but how did you end up with them?"

Sakura finally caught his eyes again, but the anguish was replaced by mild curiosity.

"How did you know I was there since the evening?" she inquired, ignoring his question.

He blinked and grinned, much to Sakura's detest. That could only mean one thing.

"Well, you see, other than gaining the sharingan from Obito, I got another exemplary, secret jutsu that I've never told anyone about," he said eerily.

"You can read minds," Sakura said with her eyebrows raised and voice heavy with sarcasm.

"Why Sakura, I didn't know you could too," he exclaimed with awe.

She scoffed at him, but had to bite her lip to hold back a giggle. He smiled, relieved to be able to chip off some ice.

"Did you find your appetite yet?" he asked, hinting at her fish again, "Don't tell me you are trying to diet as well. Girls these days."

She rolled her eyes at him, stuck the brush back in her pocket and grabbed the stick her fire-licked fish was skewered on. Sakura tore off a chunk of meat with her teeth and chewed loudly, eyeballing Kakashi with mock malice. He laughed softly and ruffled her hair with his bandaged hand, an old habit he had a difficult time breaking. For the second time in one day, she reached out for his hand again, the other one this time, and held it in both of hers, her fish abandoned. Before Kakashi could voice his puzzlement, a soft green glow emitted from her fingers.

"Thanks," he said, after a while.

"I'm not doing it for you. I just don't want you to get any blood in my hair," Sakura replied with her eyes fixed on his hand. "Well, that should do it."

With her fish finished, she got up and walked over to her pile of stolen bread rolls and clothes. She realized she still donned on her leggings and an old t-shirt Riyu gave her when she took her sweater to wash. Picking out the towel and said sweater, Sakura raised her other hand in a slight wave, "I'm taking a dip in the stream. Get less than 15 feet near me and I'll dig out those precious eyes of yours in your sleep."

Kakashi shuddered. When did she get such a foul mouth? When she disappeared into the shelter of the growth, he let his breath out and shoulders to sag. He tried not to wince.

* * *

><p>Her hair hugged her face in thin, soaked strands, clinging on to every curve and arc. The travel size towel she looted didn't help dry her off much; her skin was still humid and the sweater that hugged her body felt sticky, in a clean sort of way. The towel was already sopping by the time she finished (somewhat) drying herself so her hair still sat on top of her head in a dripping mess. Sakura plopped herself back to her original place by the fire and hoped the warmth from the flame could dry her as well. Kakashi was awfully uncomfortable beside her, she could tell, but there was still a stupid, half-smile plastered on his face.<p>

"What's your problem?"

"Oh, it's nothing, don't worry about me," he said cheerily, waving her off.

She squinted at him, eyes analyzing his posture. His shoulders were hunched over and his head was dipped. He had his elbows resting on thighs, fingers pressed against his waist, as if he had cramps or something. Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"Move your arms," she said suddenly, trying to wrench away his biceps.

Kakashi sighed quietly, disappointed his cover was already blown. Sakura started to claw at his jounin vest, trying to unzip it.

"You aren't shy now, are you?" He voiced blithely. Sakura wasn't going to be happy with what she'll find.

She simply grunted when she won the battle between her and his stubborn zipper. With the olive vest out of the way, she gingerly pressed her fingers against his abdomen. It came back stained scarlet.

"Damn it, Kakashi, why are you always like this," she growled with a hint of apprehension, "What if you got an infection? What happens if it's infested with poison and you croak, leaving me alone to complete a mission that I know nothing about?"

He smiled as he watched his student fuss and fret over his wound.

"Take it off," she demanded, indicating his tunic, "and what ever other layers you've got. Carefully too, because if you've started to scab, it'll stick your shirt to your wound."

He obeyed Sakura and discarded his shirts to reveal a grotesque gash on his stomach, broad shoulders, lean muscles...and the fact that his still-attached mask is a piece that stretches all the way to where his neck meets his collarbones.

"What the hell?" she said, momentarily forgetting about his life threatening injury, "what in God's name is wrong with you?"

"I am a very self-conscious man," he replied evenly.

"More like weird," Sakura scorned, "There's no point in hiding it."

They suddenly fell into a silence.

"It was dark that time. I'm pretty sure you didn't see much."

She tried to hide her disappointment by getting up and turning away. She didn't know if she found his lack of an apology or his unwillingness to show his face to her more disheartening.

When she came back, she had the damp towel in hand. She crouched down and leaned over his wound, her wet tresses falling around her face. Carefully, she dabbed at his gash, clearing away the excess blood. Kakashi reached over and drew up her hair in his hand. He gently rallied up the stray, escaped strands out of her face. Sakura froze for a second and continued cleaning, healing parts of it in between. The moon was already proudly perched in the evening sky when she was done. The fire was burnt down to timid sparks and glowing embers.

"Thanks...again."

"You should have told me."_ You scared me shitless, damn it_

"I didn't want to trouble you."

"It's what I do." _What if you fucking died on me_

"You already have so much on your plate. A kid like you shouldn't be so troubled."

That hurt much more than Sakura would have thought. She wondered what he meant by those words. That if he had some masked message he was trying to get across to her like she was. Or if she _was_just a kid who over analyzed everything.

"I'm not a kid, Kakashi."

She got up and walked to a considerably more dry area. She patted her dirty t-shirt and settled on it, hugging her knees to her chest, chin perched on her arms. She hated how Kakashi kept opening and closing up on her. She hated how he let her take a few steps closer and then shut her out again.

Kakashi broke the silence. "I'm going to take a rinse in the water too, I'll be back soon."

Sakura didn't turn around to see him off, but she heard his shuffling getting closer. His scent wafted around her as he placed one of his layers around her shoulders. It was still warm.

"You'll catch a cold."

Sakura turned around to see his silhouette drift farther away from her. His Hitai-ate and vest were ditched by the dead fireplace. All he had on were his usual pants tucked into the white bindings around his ankles and a fitted short sleeve. For a moment, Kakashi seemed touchable. That intimidating air of a teacher wasn't as heavily hung around him.

She still hadn't fallen asleep when she heard Kakashi lie down a few feet away from her. She didn't dare open her eyes though she didn't know why. After his breathing became more and more even, Sakura braved a small glance. He was on his side, facing towards her. Kakashi used his jounin vest as a makeshift pillow and had his arms sprawled out in front of him. She smiled to herself as she marvelled on how sleep seemed to lift ten years off his apparent age. She loved how even after years of memorizing his face, she continued to learn something new about him. She loved that about him. Somewhere far off in her mind, warning bells tingled, but she was far too tired to pay attention to them. Sakura shuffled closer unconsciously. It was too hard to stay mad at him.


	3. Chapter 3: Amicable Turmoil

**Chapter 3**

**Amicable Turmoil**

He was already up and slicing bread with a kunai when she cracked an eye open.

"Morning," he mumbled, "get ready, we are leaving in 10."

She groaned and wrapped Kakashi's shirt around her tighter, trying to block out the blinding sunlight. Mornings were always the worst parts of her daily routines, especially with sore muscles after sleeping on the hard earth all night. Her grumbling stomach was what motivated her to get up. She quickly got organized and dragged herself to where Kakashi was eating. He handed her a roll of bread and half a chocolate bar. She raised an eyebrow.

"Where did the chocolate come from?"

"My pocket."

She snorted without fail and stuffed a piece of bread in her mouth. Kakashi smiled to himself.

"So what do we do now?" Sakura said. "I know we are looking for Sai and Naruto, but...how? And you _still _haven't told me about this mission of ours."

"I summoned Pakkun and Urushi last night before I took a wash in the stream. They've been circling around our perimeter and trying to track down any familiar scents. I hope you didn't think that I would've let both of us sleep without some sort of a watchdog...literally."

Sakura shook her head at Kakashi's lame joke and replied, "Then we just follow whatever trail they find and hope for the best right?" Her doubt in his plan was blatant.

"The girl still doesn't like me, eh?" a deep voice grumbled from a newly appeared puff of smoke.

Kakashi looked over lazily and said, "Oh, Pakkun, how nice of you to join us, did you find anything out there?"

Sakura kept her mouth quiet. She shuddered as she recalled the time that Pakkun revealed that they used the same shampoo. After years of different shampoos in a desperate attempt lose the canine shampoo scent, she still held a grudge.

"It was pretty old, but Urushi got a whiff of Porcelain. He's waiting by the mark right now."

"Porcelain?"

"He means Sai," Kakashi explained.

_Sai. _She stared at the piece of chocolate in her hands and the few bread crumbs on her lap. He was the most irritating person she's ever met. Yet all she wanted was for him to be right beside her, breathing and wearing whatever fake expression he'd come up with that day.

"I'm going to wash my face," she said abruptly and threw Kakashi's shirt back to him.

When Pakkun made sure she was out of earshot, he pressed his paws on Kakashi's lap and looked up at him through drowsy eyes.

"You told her yet?"

Kakashi patted his head and contemplated it. Everything seemed to be pushing him to tell her. He closed his eyes.

_'Fuck no.' _

_'Kakashi.' She narrowed her eyes at him. 'You are an elite jounin. You were trained for this.'_

_'But why her? Get someone else to go with me. Naruto and Sai, okay, but-"_

"_And can that bundle of blonde or antisocial heal your wounds? No, I didn't think so," she snapped, slamming her fist on her desk._

_Kakashi avoided her gaze as he tried to wire up a good excuse. The woman didn't miss that. _

"_Why _not _Sakura? If you are worried about her then don't; she's been my apprentice for years so I know full well that she's capable for this. She's been _your _student for ages as well. You should know better than I do."_

"_I...the mission. It's not her, it's the whole damn mission. Choose another kuniochi for this. Or replace me; I'm not going to be the one to witness her finding out about this."_

_Tsunade glared at Kakashi. _

"_Kakashi! I will not explain myself again! Sakura was chosen for this mission and that is final." She paused for a second. In a softer voice, she added, "I don't want to put her through this either. It's just that she needs closure...and this is the best way for her to get it. I don't want to put her into any other shinobi's hands; she knows and trusts you the most. You should be the one to help them." _

_He shifted his weight from one foot to another. Kakashi looked longingly at the window behind Tsunade for a fleeting second._

"_Did something happen between you two?" she asked quietly. Too quietly. _

"_No."_

_She scrutinized him, but his years of experience didn't allow him to leak anything on his face; he donned his usual stoic and lazy expression. The seemingly young woman sighed and dismissed him with a flicker of her wrist._

"_Just go. Don't question me again."_

_He turned and headed for the door, his fisted hands stuffed into his pockets._

"_And Kakashi..." she called out to his back, "you are an impervious piece of work, but Sakura's an open book to me. I'll find out whatever the hell you are hiding beneath that mask of yours."_

Kakashi looked back at Pakkun fondly, rubbing a tender spot behind his fuzzy ear.

"I will."

* * *

><p>As Kakashi and Sakura burned calories cruising through the thicket, Pakkun and Urushi constantly kept several paces ahead of them to sniff out Sai's fading trail. Urushi lead the group with his heightened senses and Pakkun...well, perhaps he was there for moral support. Kakashi always had a knack to call on Pakkun, whether he was useful in the situation or not.<p>

The humans of the group fell into a comfortable, rhythmic silence, each leaping ahead of each other. It was just like the old times, but this time, Sakura could actually keep up with him.

"Sensei," Sakura called out suddenly, "Stop for a sec."

Kakashi slowed down to a halt and his ninken automatically stopped as well. He looked at Sakura questioningly while she made her way to where he stood. She kept her face downshifted and reached out to tug at the hem of Kakashi's shirt. Her poorly concealed blush didn't miss Kakashi's eye.

"I need to check your injury. I don't want all my hard work to go to waste," she said curtly.

He smiled and spread out his arms, humouring her.

"Undress me, Sakura-chan," he said dramatically.

She scoffed. Sakura pushed up his layers and pressed her fingers gingerly onto the pink wound. She didn't have thread at hand so instead of stitching up the wound, she had to use a medical jutsu. It healed better, but the injury was a lot more fragile.

"Does it hurt when I press on it?" she asked.

"No."

She narrowed her eyes at him. Since he was the mastermind of denial, she pressed her fingers harder, practically to a point whereas she was jabbing him. His façade faltered and he winced. Sakura smiled with triumph, happy to have 'won' the struggle and that she was able to inflict some pain on him...with a decent excuse, nonetheless.

"Do you know the meaning of the word, 'gentle,' Sakura?" he said, rolling down his shirts. He zipped his vest and stuck his hands in his pockets. Something bulged out.

"Sensei..." the pink haired adolescent squinted at it. "Please don't tell me you still have that ungodly piece of-"

"It's not _ungodly_, my young pupil, its _unrivalled_," he responded with a spark of awe, "Jiriaya-san would be rolling in his grave right now if he heard you."

He pulled out the nostalgic, tattered orange book and waved it in front of her.

Kakashi continued, "You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, everyone knows that. You should give it a try some time."

"Like hell I would! Besides, I'm judging it by it's contents, not cover. It's disgusting..."

"Oh?" he replied keenly, "and how would you know what is inside the book if you have never read it before?"

Sakura's cheeks flushed a disturbingly bright shade of red.

"Intuition. That's all."

Kakashi slid a sly smile onto his face and edged closer to Sakura. He nonchalantly flipped open his beloved paperback and held it in front of him, far enough that it was sure to be in Sakura's view, baiting her.

But of course, she_ has_ already read it, having been a curious teenager and smitten with all things Kakashi. It's not like she is a virgin anymore either, so there isn't much hype to it.

She vaguely remembered losing it to a guy about a year ago. He had brown hair and a really nice smile. They were both in Kakashi's platoon and eventually started going out after a year or so. It wasn't overly romantic and sweet like she had always imagined it to be, but awkward and incredibly weird. He was a virgin too, but it made Sakura felt a little better; He was giving her as much as she gave him, though it was worth less in his mind. The foreplay was actually the best part. The sex itself was fumbly and sweaty. It ranged from painful to decent, but her first time wasn't satisfying at all.

"Well it's not very chaste for a girl to daydream about it all the time."

She turned red again and tried to free her hand again. He was enjoying this way too much. She felt like a mouse who's tail has been caught by the cat..._dog, _Kakashi. She blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Girls get horny too."

She regretted it as soon is it came out. Kakashi's eye widened and she could feel her's mirroring his. She prayed to dear god that perhaps Kakashi would get amnesia from the shock and forget what happened during those last few minutes. The silence was suffocating.

Her breath hitched. "Well, -"

"I know that," Kakashi cutted her off.

He stood and patted down his pants and walked away.

His back was away from her as he called out, "Careful when you tell that to a man. They might get the wrong idea."

She burned with humiliation and something else.

Kakashi stopped, shoulders still facing her.

"Then again, I'm talking to a kid who reads hentai," he continued, waving his innocent paperback in the air.

Just like that the tension was swept away. Instead of relief though, Sakura only felt crestfallen. There was that subtle brush off of her sensei yet again. She hated how Kakashi so easily turned all her muffled, bitter feelings into emotions of disapointment, of aching abandonment.

* * *

><p>"We are getting near," Pakkun grunted in his low grumbly voice, "be prepared."<p>

Neither human beans answered. Pakkun sighed a canine sigh and muttered something about the stupidity of human mannerism. It seemed as if all of mankind were closet masochists/sadists.

When the two of them returned to the expectant ninken, sourness was written on Sakura's face and Kakashi, well, he looked like Kakashi. Anyone would have guessed that it was one of those 'teacher scolding the pupil' moments that happened, but the dogs' supreme hearing skills didn't give them that comfort.

As the trees and wood blurred past them like green static and fresh air slapped them in the face, the pack stuck together in a knitted, but loose formation. It was about midday when the sun was the hottest. So it wasn't a surprise when the dogs could smell the site a mile away, pretty much literally. Even a mere human like Sakura smelled it before she saw it. When the branches gave way and the sun finally hit them directly, the best word to describe the bunch would be 'befuddled.'

Sakura threw up on the spot.

It wasn't some horrific, butchered scene though, quite the contrary actually. It wasn't the nonexistent stench of rotting flesh that had Sakura hurling or the blood painted earth that everybody was secretly expecting.

The open space before them looked as if it was deliberately cleaned up with haste. It had a small sort of cave to one side and a couple of scattered logs to another. In the middle of all that was a roughly-made stool and sitting on it was Sai's beloved drawing book of him and his brother with Sai's little finger lying above it like the cherry on top.

Yet again, it wasn't the fact that his finger was displayed in front of them so mockingly that set Sakura off, it was some sort of heavy stink in the air whose source was invisible. It was the incredible stink, the heavy feelings and the killer afternoon heat. She swayed.

"It's his alright," Pakkun wrinkled his nose at the stool, face contorted in pain.

For once, Sakura felt a spark of pity for the dogs. Apparently, they can smell about 100,000 times better than humans, but right now, it only meant that the smell was 100,000 times stronger and more sour.

"Now what?" Urushi barked.

If she wasn't so unwell, she would have laughed at his surprisingly deep voice.

"You two look around for clues on what the hell this is and what the hell is that stench. I'm going to bring her away before she keels over again," Kakashi demanded, taking the reigns again.

She felt gentle fingers clasp around her shoulder and allowed it to lead her off.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly as she numbly followed him, "You've seen worst things in your medical experiences."

"I know, it's just that.." (sigh) "Ugh, I don't know. I'm weird. I'm sad. Teens do that, you know, have weird tantrums and quirks. Apparently mine is throwing up."

He laughed quietly and relaxed his grip as he realized that the stench no longer surronded them.

"18 is technically an adult. You can't blame things on your status as a teenager anymore," he says.

She turned he head and studied his expression. An unexpected swell of pride and jubilance rose up to her throat.

"You think so?" Sakura says softly.

He sat down on a rock and patted the ground beside him cheerfully.

"C'mon. Let _me _play the medic for once."

She blushed on how close it sounded like 'playing doctor_.'_ God knows they weren't children anymore, but the imagery in her mind made her blush nonetheless. It was shameful.

"Aren't you affected by it at all?" She asked as he pressed a careful hand to her forehead, a classic first action of someone who knew nothing about how to make a person feel better, but won't admit it out loud.

"I am, but I guess not as much as you. I'm a weathered man after all," he says lightly.

Where did that sudden good mood of his come from?

"But...it's like..._Sai's _finger. All I can think about it how I've watched it move a thousand times before when Sai drew, but now it's lying on top of a book, dead and detached."

"It sounds like you feel sorry for the finger."

"I do."

His hand no longer felt like it was simply taking her temperature.

"Sensei," she breathed.

She lifted her head slightly to face him. His expression was hard and unreadable. Like always.

"Hm?" he responded.

She liked the way his skin felt on hers. It was written all over her face and she knew it. Maybe she was simply craving physical contact that she's been lacking for so long, but right now, Kakashi seemed so...right.

He withdrew his hand abruptly and got up, looking longingly at where he left Urushi and Pakkun.

"When you feel better, you should come back. I need to go and see how things are coming along," he said, patting Sakura lightly on the head.

Shame coursed through her body for being so transparent. She watched his shoulders bob slightly as he walked away. How many times has she found herself in this position before?

* * *

><p>"The smell is most likely a mix of old blood from some sort of chemical used to preserve that...finger. It was the strongest around it. "<p>

The crew nodded smartly. Sakura picked at a chipping nail. The roles of nausea were overwhelming.

"Well, clearly, they left it for us," Pakkun continued for Urushi, stating the obvious.

"They are laughing at our faces," Sakura stated bluntly.

Kakashi was the first one to break the semicircle and strolled towards it. He plucked up the finger+book and thrusted them into his pocket, like someone shoving spare change into their pocket before leaving the house. A scrap piece of paper fell out from the book. Slowly, Kakashi reached down to read it.

"It's..."

Sakura snatched it out of his hand, eyes wide with bewilderment. "It's Sai's pen mark."

Instead of a cryptic message, the note were a few hastily drawn waves. It was terribly blotchy as if he folded it up without letting the ink dry.

"He's telling us where they are going next," she exclaimed and shoved the scrape back into Kakashi's face, "See?"

Pakkun snorted at the bouncing girl and the Copy nin simply scratched his head.

"I'm guessing the waves indicate the land of water. What a coincidence."

Sakura frowned. "What do you mean?"

He wiped his hands on his pants and turned his weary eye to his dogs.

"They know what we are after. Perhaps they knew it all along."

"Knew what?" Sakura questioned.

"Why else would they leave a finger for us? It's a child's game, taunting us," Kakashi went on, oblivious to her.

"Knew _what?"_

Kakashi blinked slowly, suddenly aware of her presence.

"The mission."

The dogs swerved their heads to Sakura. It was like watching a soap opera where every other word had a double meaning.

"This would be when you tell me what the fuck the mission is."

Kakashi stared at Sakura for a hard, long minute. It was miraculous that Sakura, as a well-trained kuniochi, humoured him for so long, not knowing the purpose of their mission, but going along with it just for the hell of it.

"Its to...build relations with other nations again."

Sakura squinted. "The fuck?"

"Remember the long speech I told about the fragile ties of the different villages and yada yada yada? That's what we were sent out to fix. Who better to represent Konoha then it's very own Copy Cat nin, jinchurriki and well, monstrous pupil of the Hokage?"

Kakashi didn't look like he was lying. He didn't even twitch.

"The part about needing to be seen is just to show the others our motives are pure. Better to be seen out in the open then in shady forests. Builds trust. Kills suspicions."

"Huh," was all Sakura could manage. "That's all?"

Kakashi nodded.

"I'm guessing that we were headed towards Kiri."

"Yup, good old bloody mist village."

"And got attacked by...him on the way there." She could feel his disappointment. She had his name on her tongue, but it just wouldn't budge out.

"So we got a little sidetracked, yes."

Sakura looked dumbly at the ground. She rubbed her stomach absentmindedly. "Wait, what? So the mission is to go to the village of Mist. But meanwhile, we are also going there to rescue Sai."

"Sure."

"Okay..."

"Great. Lets move on."

He walked briskly away from her and back to his beloved man's-best-friends.

After heartbreaking goodbyes, the canines disappeared into wisps of smoke and Kakashi convinced Sakura to continue their quest towards the Country of Water. There were no other trails that could lead to Sai so the best thing to do was hope for the best. Naruto was still painfully missing as well.

At least the weather was sweet enough. The forest leaves weren't dappled with sunlight nor birds present to sing their love songs. It was bright alright, but with no sun visible, just a thick blanket of clouds. The air was crisp. Sharp, but not cold. Everything else were banal shades of light blue to bright grey, except bits of metallic green, the kind that made it hard to say if it was warming or simply blinding.

Sakura and Kakashi were weaving around trees for the nth time.

"Is that really all there was to it?" Sakura pestered him again.

"Mm hm."

"Seriously?"

Kakashi grunted.

"Huh," Sakura said, "So the super secret badass mission was just to go kiss and make up with old people."

His lips slid lopsided into a smile, "Yeah."

Kakashi glanced sideways at Sakura who was too busy trying to blow a stray strand of hair out of her eyes to notice.

"Why didn't you tell me in the first place?" Sakura swerved her eyes to Kakashi again so suddenly, Kakashi's rhythmic strides got tipsy for a second.

"Uh...," he cleared his throat, "To nurture your excitement and build suspense. Makes the mission seem more fun and mysterious doesn't it?"

She looked unimpressed. Her eyes were heavily lidded and eyebrows raised.

"How 'bout this," Sakura exclaimed loudly, stepping in front of Kakashi, "You stop using your suffocating sarcasm and I stop..."

"Acting like a man?" Kakashi was courteous enough to finish it for her.

Her fists trembled, but she bit her lips, mumbling, "Whatever to make you stop."

Kakashi grasped it gently, gave a quick shake and snaked out of her hand before it tried to crush his bones. He stepped sideways and jumped to the next branch ahead of him.

"Great. I like this new understanding we have." Kakashi said cheerfully.

"Your false happiness is considered sarcasm as well," Sakura dictated, following his lead.

"Fine. Is there anything else you want to change about me, mother?"

"AHH There! Sarcasm! And actually, now that you mentioned it, yes, starting with that freakishly big mob of hair of yours."

"The ladies love it."

"I don't."

"Then shall I cut my hair for you? To make myself all the more appealing to you?"

Sakura stared at Kakashi, unsure of what he meant. "Hey, sarcasm again. That's already two points deducted."

"So we have points now? I'm deducting two points from you as well because you don't like my hair."

"Who said I didn't like your hair?"

"You did, Sakura. I quote, 'freakishly big mob of -, '"

"Ok, I get it, i get it. I'm just saying that it kind of looks like something lives in it, Kakashi."

She waited awhile for his witty response, but he just kept on going. Was it because she used his first name? Was he offended?

"Sensei?"

She made a lunge at Kakashi and grabbed a fistful of his hair, jerking him to a clumsy stop. They wobbled on his branch for a second before Kakashi turned around to glare at her with surprise. Sakura smirked, glad she finally had his attention.

"Listen to-"

She realized that he wasn't looking at her, but past her. Past her to the splintering crack of the seemingly sturdy tree. He fastened her in his arms and leapt back expertly, making sure she was tucked neatly against his body. Sakura saw the imminent danger, but all she thought about was Kakashi and the way that parts of him tensed and bunched up whenever he moved. The way that she could feel it instead of seeing it. Sakura could smell him from where her nose was pressed up against his collar, breathing in every warm breathe she could take of him. And the soothing vibrations of his throat whenever he spoke. Sakura.

"Sakura."

She snapped up.

"You are getting too careless."

She looked up, past his lingering fingers and right into his eye. The hitai-ate covering the other eye was deeply disturbing. She felt compelled to push it up.

"Sakura," Kakashi said quickly, "What are you-"

His wide crimson eye watched hers carefully. His mismatched eyes were such a sight to see, this close. She'd really taken them for granted.

"_Sakura."_ He seemed panicked.

She wanted a taste of him so badly right then it almost hurt.

"Kakashi," Sakura began, sliding her hands gently up his vest, stopping at where the neck meets the shoulders. It was incredibly warm there, even with the layer separating their skins.

"What were you doing?" Kakashi asked gently.

She realized what this was. What was she thinking? He was her teacher, for crying out loud. And she was just another one of his pupils. Sakura despised so dearly how her heart always betrayed her. First a self destructive mass murderer and now a lazy, perverted teacher.

He slowly reached up and fitted her hands into his. Kakashi gave a quick squeeze. Like an adult comforting a crying child. She wanted to bury her face into the crook of his neck and hid there.

"Nothing," she exclaimed, beaming a smile at him. "I was clumsy, that's all."

He nodded as if he believed her and she grinned as if she didn't feel wretched.

"Thanks for not letting me fall to my death and everything."

She pulled her hands out of his grasp and threw them around his neck, stealing a hug for him. Though Sakura hated how corrupt her real intentions were, she still longed to touch him. He clasped her back tightly before he stepped away.

"How would I even face the Hokage if I merely watched you die, right?" Kakashi joked lightly.

She rolled her eyes and punched his arm playfully. She was disappointed, but still relieved that he let the way she acted slide. Sakura hated how she was hoping for something else.

"C'mon, you are wasting daylight here," she said.

"Wasn't I the one that said that to you before?"

* * *

><p>After hours of crippling scouring, Sakura began to slow down. Her chakra supply only held out for so long and she was still very human and very female.<p>

"Can we stop for a while?"

Kakashi nodded briskly and dropped neatly onto the floor within few feet of Sakura.

"I'll be back."

Sakura hastily fled the scene and ambled to the closest bush that seemed big enough to cover her. She crouched down and prayed to dear god that this wasn't happening. Slowly, Sakura pulled down her pants and took a peek at her underwear.

There were smears of deep red blood.

She groaned. After a few seconds of pitying herself, she grabbed some leaves to soak up as much blood as she could and ripped off part her sleeve to use as padding. The odd cramps and emotional moods finally found their cause. She gathered up her pride and marched back to the awaiting Kakashi. His eyebrow was raised, beckoning her to tell him.

Sakura and Kakashi had been on many missions together before and after the war. During the war was when Sakura went through her first cycle, but had many female supporters to guide her along. This saying, she always had the worst cramps. Ino even nicknamed her the 'temperamental monster' during those times. Thankfully, when she went on missions with Kakashi in the platoon, or _any _male, this has never happened. And now, ambushed and void of vital supplies, _it_ finally comes.

"I got my thing."

He studied her for a long minute and sighed a deep, life sucking sigh. He shifted from one foot to another and stepped closer to Sakura. "Your..."

"Period."

"Are you alright?" he asked stiffly, awkwardly clasping her shoulder.

If the situation wasn't so dire, she would have laughed on how pathetic Kakashi was on consoling girls.

"I will be."

Sakura licked her chapped lips and took a deep breath, burning her dry throat. They've gone without water and food for a long time now. The land was too marshy for food to grow yet the mud was too thick for water to be clean. At least they were nearing the edge of the land.

"I'll try to go find us some supplies. You stay and rest."

She nodded obediently and watched as he blended himself into the woods.

"I can still fend for myself, you know," Sakura said when Kakashi came back with a bundle of branches and insisted she sit and watch.

She grabbed a nearby branch and with a sharp and precise burst of chakra, one of the ends flickered and glowed, bursting into a flame before long. Kakashi smiled as he stacked the wood together. He's being doing a lot of that lately.

"You've really grown up, Sakura," he said softly, "When you were young, you would have been perfectly content with me taking care of you."

"You just noticed?"

"I noticed it during the war. And I'm simply noticing it more right now."

She grinned as the memories. Back then it was just the dirt, the heavy air and fluttering of her heartbeat with every experienced blow. No one cared if you were caked in dirt, smelled funny or had a really high and ugly forehead. It was just the fact that they've fought together that makes everyone closer.

"I'll get us some fish."

Sakura grimaced, "Just get some for yourself; the cramps ate away my appetite."

Kakashi pondered it and nodded.

After an hour or so, the sun was already swept away. It seemed daylight was getting more and more sparse as winter rounded the corner. Kakashi had his stomach full of fish and Sakura a stomach full of boiled plants (Kakashi insisted). Though Kakashi hadn't moved and inch from his rock, Sakura was still painfully awake. Her stomach grumbled from time to time, but out of queasiness instead of hunger. Her knees felt weak and shifting into the fetal position didn't take the ache away. Being a woman sucked.

"Sakura?" Kakashi whispered.

She froze, startled by the sound of his voice.

"You okay there?"

"Mm..humph..." (M hm, yes, I'm quite alright)

"You don't sound so good."

"Ugghhh...mmm.." (Groans of poorly concealed pain)

He picked himself up and crouched beside Sakura. The moon lit up his hair and shoulders, but shadowed his face.

"Shift over."

Sakura was now fully awake. She shuffled over until there was enough room for Kakashi to lie his back on her tree as well. Searing thoughts and situations ran through her mind, playing like paranoid little glimpses of hope. He sat down beside her, shoulder pressed comfortably against her's and settled down in his spot. If Sakura blushed any harder, she would have caught on fire.

"Thanks Sensei."

"Don't thank me yet. Summoning Jutsu!"

And poof came about half a dozen furry bodies, some small enough to squeeze in between Kakashi and Sakura. The nin dogs. Sakura glared at him. _What the fuck?_

Keenly smiling, Kakashi said, "I find that surrounding myself in warmth always helps me feel better."

"And so you summon your dogs to be used as a living blanket?"

"Well, aren't you warm? Their pelts are always very soft as well."

"Why must you ruin everything."

"Ruin What?"

* * *

><p>Back in the lovely Konoha, the land was blanketed in the familiar luminescence of the moon. The streets were quiet except for the occasional jeer of a nearby bar or midnight grill. Though all was sweet and tender, there was a specific blonde who was drowning in her mountainous heaps of paperwork.<p>

"_What?" _Tsunade thundered.

The soft knock on her door abruptly stopped and from behind it came a timid voice, "There is someone here to see you, Tsunade-sama."

"Who?"

"It's me," came the gruff response.

Tsunade paused her writing and looked up at the open door. That voice shouldn't have been back for another 2 weeks or so.

"Come in."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Sai responded professionally, opening the door to her office.


	4. Chapter 4: Don't Go There

**Chapter 4**

**Don't Go There**

* * *

><p>"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Sai responded professionally, opening the door to her office.<p>

He stepped in quietly and made a formal bow, black tresses hiding his tired eyes.

"Where is the rest of your team, Sai," she demanded immediately. Tsunade was never one to warm hearts with small talk.

He straightened up and rubbed his forehead with his hand. If even Sai was showing signs of despondency, there had to be something wrong.

"In fact, where is the rest of _you?" _

She gestured disgustedly at the sickening, yellowish purple stump of a pinkie on his right hand. He concluded that he must be feeling the beginning of what people call 'self consciousness.'

"We were ambushed by the target at the Village of Wheat," he said monotonously, "I was placed under genjutsu, most likely, and the next time I was conscious, they had me bound and in a small cell, underground."

"_You-" _

Porcelain continued quickly before she threw her tantrum, "I don't know why they released me so soon. Also, they seemed to have taken my finger as...a souvenir."

Tsunade swallowed back her fiery flames and proceeded to question Sai civilly instead.

"Do you have any idea where the rest of your team is? Or where their old camp is? And who the hell is 'they' exactly? We are only after Sasuke."

He closed his eyes and began to recite, "I do not know the whereabouts of my team, but they are likely either killed or have escaped for I was the only one held captive. I was drugged once again after waking in the cell, but this time, I woke about 200 meters from Konoha. I am estimating that there are about 5 new people Sasuke managed to recruit; all of them have some sort of skill or weapon. I recgonized Jugo and Hōzuki Suigetsu , but the rest are unknown to me."

"Damn it!" Tsunade pounded on her desk. "7 more fucking people? That changes everything. How the hell were we suppose to know that Uchiha actually _liked _company."

"Well actually, considering how-"

Tsunade shot him a glare.

"Yes indeed, it is a mystery." Sai nodded.

"If Naruto, Kakashi and Sakura survived, they'll be in such imminent danger if they face Sasuke like that. All they know is that they had to bring Sasuke home, not deal with 7 more enemies _before_ bringing Sasuke home."

"Actually," Sai began uncomfortably, "They don't exactly know that either."

Tsunade stopped rubbing her neck. Her hazel eyes locked with Sai's reluctant ones.

"_What_?"

Sai edged farther as Tsunade suddenly burst out of her chair and slammed her hands onto her table. She looked like she was about to climb over the desk to strangle Sai.

"Kakashi-san thought it was for the best if we didn't tell Naruto-kun or Sakura-chan because of their previous and complicated ties to Sasuke. We agreed that it would only obstruct the efficiency of our squad and-"

"Their 'previous and complicated ties' are the _reason _they got chosen IN THE FIRST PLACE. Why else did those dusty old elders choose this specific team? Force certainly didn't work so they insisted that making those two go along would pull the nonexistent heartstrings of the Uchiha, no matter how many times I explained that he just doesn't FEEL REMORSE!"

"I agree, Tsunade-sama."

"So you're telling me that Kakashi is leading Naruto and Sakura towards a bandit of _7_ ungodly criminals ASSOCIATED WITH SASUKE without even MENTIONING IT? Then why the fuck would those two idiots even agree to follow him?"

"He-"

"No, LET ME GUESS," she roared, "He spewed out some crap about going to save some dogs from a pile of rubble that fell on them!"

"...I believe so, Tsunade-sama."

"If I could choose, of _course _I wouldn't put my apprentice through that hell again. She already suffered enough when the boy she thought she loved did not come back, even after the war. BUT THOSE ELDERS! Ugh. My _god," _she started pacing, " I _told _Kakashi that I was entrusting her in his hands, that..."

She turned sharply to Sai. Her cloudy eyes seemed to finally realize that he was still there.

"Get out of here. I don't need you anymore. Take a nap and go get a look at that finger. It's repulsive. I've got decisions to make and things to sort out. Go."

He fidgeted for a second and when Tsunade raised a brow impatiently, he finally sputtered out, "What about my team? What are you going to do about them?"

She paused and gazed at Sai intently. It was genuine concern he was showing here.

"Though thick-headed and surely the devil's spawn himself, Kakashi isn't one to give up on his team easily. He hasn't sent back any messages yet so I'll assume he's doing alright...and not dead. I have to trust him for now and give him some time before sending people out. Our numbers are already so low and its too soon to send people out again.

"Besides," she continued quietly, "No matter how important these people are to us, they are still only 3 people out of our whole village."

Sai's shoulders sagged and after a hasty bow, he left the room briskly, shutting the door behind him. Outside he was greeted by a worried Shizune who gave him a 'you survived' thumbs up. He shivered as he recalled Tsunade's abrupt and short flares of angers, switching from a concerned, motherly mode, to hellish rage and then back to the orderly Kage persona.

* * *

><p>The grey haired nin sneezed.<p>

"That's twice now," he exclaimed merrily, "I think someone's talking about me. Praising my legendary skills, no doubt."

Sakura snorted. After a full night's recovery (and delay), the two were back on their feet and making their way towards the ocean. A close study of them would show that their cheeks have sunken in a little and their stomachs flattened up. Muscles were more tense and hard and various, coarsely treated blisters covered their feet and hands.

Kakashi was certainly prepared for this, since he always down played everything; as if getting dehydration, because he thought carrying an extra bout of water didn't seem cool, was worth the cost. Sakura though, even as an excellent packer, only planned for a three day trip. Today was the 6th day and she had but a bundle of raisins left in her right pocket that she hasn't told Kakashi about yet. The forests were no more and the duo were traveling on rocky grounds so without the fertility of the forest, raisins were like caviar right then. They'll have to live on roots and reptiles until they've reached nicer lands or civilization.

"You actually believe in that kind of stuff? You know, how one sneeze is an itch, two sneezes means someone is talking about you and three-"

"Is when you have a cold," Kakashi finished for her.

The two of them were walking and climbing around the rocks instead of their usually flitting about. The slower pace was a nice change for once.

She looked skeptically at him. "So old man Kakashi actually _believes. _Who would have thought."

"Of course I do. Do you know how hard it is for a human to go through life without having something to hold on to?"

She smiled and hugged her newly washed sweater to her chest. They had enough time this morning to rinse their clothes by a small stream in between crevices of rocks. Her sweater didn't dry as fast as Kakashi's so he let her don his long sleeve while she waited for her sweater to dry. It _was_, actually, dry, but his shirt smelled so much like him that she didn't want to take it off yet.

"I guess."

"Contemplate it. You'll have until we get to the Naruto Bridge. We'll be there pretty soon"

They traveled in a comfortable silence for a bit, something that was difficult to achieve with just anyone. She looked up and admired the teal-ness of the sky. It was hard to believe that just a few days ago had Sakura hated every fibre of Kakashi's being. It's like she doesn't even know if it's love or hate.

Love. Just the thought of it's possibility frightens her.

* * *

><p>15 days later, Kakashi decided that tomorrow morning, they were going Kirigakure. That is 21 days from when they first stepped out of Konoha.<p>

When they first arrived at the land of water, they were both dirt ridden and honestly, looked a bit too ragged to walk into another village as representatives of Konoha. Kakashi then decided to pull out some bills from their small mission budget to book a room at a rundown hotel at the edge of the land of water.

"I thought we had to be seen and everything," Sakura had said to Kakashi when he lead them towards towards the old hotel.

"Uh, yes, but only Kirigakure knows. They didn't want to startle the whole country for a couple of shinobi," Kakashi had responded.

The room they were given was small, but unexpectedly cozy with one bed, a desk with a chair and a lamp, a bedside table, armchair, small bathroom and a couple of shelves for a closet. At least there were two complimentary chocolates placed neatly on the crisp and folded bed sheets.

It was certainly strange for Sakura to share a single room with her teacher, even without knowing that they were going to stay there for more than a week. Originally, Sakura was suppose to hog the bed, but after a few guilty nights, they rotated sleeping spots daily. The most experience the pink haired girl had of living with a male was with her dad, who slept two doors down the hallway from her own bedroom. It was hard to think that your teacher had a life outside lessons. Like grocery shopping. Like using the bathroom.

"Oh my god!" Sakura had exclaimed on their first night together. "Is that _pee?_"

She was staring at the otherwise pristine toilet seat.

"Uhh," Kakashi said, popping a sheepish head in the washroom, "Kind of. Yes."

The following few nights lead to various other incidents as well.

"KAKASHI?" screeched a cry from the shower the fourth evening.

"Hmmm?" was the lazy response.

"Towel?"

Kakashi got up uncomfortably from the armchair and scouted the room for said towel. It was sprawled on the wooden chair beside the desk.

'Hurry, the steams fading; I'm getting cold."

He knocked the door and it creaked open a few centimetres, revealing a single jade eye and a set of wrinkly fingers. She grabbed the towel, but had to open the door farther to even fit it through the tiny slit. Both of them pretended that the 3 long seconds that Sakura and Kakashi made eye contact via the mirror inside the bathroom never happened.

In her head though, Sakura played the moment over and over again in her mind, that night. Like how she was still dripping wet and completely nude when he saw her. And how _much_ of her he saw. And if he liked it.

When she woke up, she found herself warm and damp between the legs. Pakkun was summoned once again to stay on watch during the night so the first thing she saw was his smug face on her bed in the morning. It felt like he could actually _smell_ the arousal on her.

Though a few more, 'Ughh, my eyes are burning! Lock the door, for crying out loud' and 'Jesus! Knock first!' happened, both of them remained unscathed on the early evening of the 15th day.

"So tomorrow?" Sakura asked again, spreading the things she bought today on the bed.

"Yes. We will go to Kiri first thing in the morning. After breakfast, of course."

She stared at the little sack of jelly beans, bunch of hair pins and the new shirt she bought. After they made the visit tomorrow, they'll head back to Konoha and that will be that. No more light teasing and companionable silence. Sakura couldn't keep Kakashi all to herself anymore.

"Well, what about Sai and Naruto?" she said, brightening up, "We've got to look for them before we head home, right?"

"It's best if we report it back to Konoha first. It'll be more efficient."

"Send your dogs." She glared at the sleeping heaps of fur. Every since Sakura's awkward moment after waking up from her stimulating dream, Pakkun brought along at least two more bodies every night he was summoned, like bringing along friends to see a movie.

Kakashi shook his head and sat down on the bed beside Sakura. She hugged her legs closer to her chest.

"We should go back anyways. You've done a great job taking care of us, but we need to rest and hand things over to others too," he said kindly, patting her shoulder.

She shrugged away and brashly stood up. She grabbed a few coins from their budget purse and said, "I'm hungry. I'm going out."

The kuniochi hoped he was going to stop her, but he only lied back tiredly on the bed and made a half-hearted wave.

"Come back soon."

Sakura closed the door behind her with disappointment. She had her coins jingling in her hands, her sweater and leggings from Konoha, but her forehead protector was left in the hotel; it was part of Kakashi's shady 'do not be seen' plan. He always seemed to be changing his tactics to complete opposites yet manage to fabricate some reason to make it plausible.

She stopped at a small but lively takoyaki stand. There were scattered, makeshift tables and chairs set out in front of it where people laughed and chewed down their freshly made orders. Sakura stepped closer and watched as a middle-aged women in a peach apron poured batter into small semi circles, adding the octopus pieces on it. She could here the oil and batter sizzling on the outside. When the takoyakis were finished, saliva gathered at the tip of Sakura's tongue as she watched the women squeeze unagi sauce and mayo on it, finishing the delicacy by sprinkling bonito and dried seaweed on top. The bonito flakes curled as steam rolled off it and that was enough to compel Sakura forward.

"Two orders please," she said, smiling.

Sakura sat down on a chair, snapped her chopsticks apart and clasped her hands together in a delighted, "Itadaki-masu!"

She ate her first one in one bite, savouring the taste and the biting heat.

"Yeah, I know, it's weird, right?" said a nearby table.

Sakura turned her chewing head towards the source. It was a group of young girls, whom recently became chunins most likely, gossiping as they devoured their own servings of takoyaki.

"I mean, isn't Leaf pretty far away? It's so weird for one of them to show up out of the blue like that. Especially since he was alone and stuff," said another.

"Maybe he's a missing-nin," giggled the third.

Sakura stopped her fervent chewing and pricked her ears up.

"He's kind of hot though. For a Konoha guy." The table burst out laughing.

_Damn it_ Kakashi. Wasn't he the one who said to keep a low profile? No doubt he was actually out here flirting with school girls. Sakura growled under her breath. She was going to eat his share of takoyaki too then.

"Meh," continued a fourth, "He's too loud for my taste. And his hair...it's such an odd colour."

The girls giggle again.

Sakura frowned. L_oud_? Kakashi must have some sort of multiple personality disorder. Or maybe he's just loud when flirting to attract girls. Maybe he naturally _is _loud, but keeps stoic around her because he is her teacher.

She groaned and lied her head on the table, feeling it tremble every time someone walked by. He was getting to her head.

She decided to bring him the take out anyways and hold it hostage until he told her the truth. She veered right, back to the direction of the hotel.

"Hey! Open up!" she banged loudly on the door.

She counted to 6 before footsteps could be heard approaching her. The door opened to reveal a bare-chested Kakashi with a towel thrown over his shoulder and pants resting lightly on his hips. She could see the pelvic lines trailing down to where his pants covered the rest. Religiously, he still donned his mask.

"You know, we don't even need a password or a peephole because that voice of yours is like-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, it's beautiful," she said, pushing past him.

Even though Kakashi has become comfortable with showing Sakura more of him now, it never fails to hitch her breath when she sees his skin.

"How nice, you brought dinner for me?" Kakashi said, eyeing the little takeout paper bag in her hand.

"After you tell me why you went parading around town declaring your name."

Kakashi looked confused, "What? I didn't tell-"

"Um, yeah, you did. There was a bunch of squealing girls at the next table gushing how...ugly the konoha _male_ ninja was. So obviously, it wasn't me."

"I didn't wear my forehead protector or my vest. I bought a frickin' eyepatch too remember?"

"But..." Sakura insisted stubbornly.

"They must have mistaken you for a boy. You've got a strong Konoha accent and an equally strong personality," Kakashi chuckled at his own joke.

She rolled her eyes and said, "Whatever. We are going to be exposed tomorrow anyways so I guess it doesn't matter,"

Kakashi avoided her eyes. "Yeah."

"Well, I'm going to take a shower. I hope you didn't use up all the soap."

* * *

><p>Kakashi already fell asleep on his makeshift bed (nest of extra bed sheets and blankets) at the foot of Sakura's bed when she tiptoed out of the washroom. She ended up soaking in a long bath instead. The way the moonlight fell on the curve of his spine made him seem so soft and warm; he didn't bother putting a shirt back on. Sakura sighed and plopped down on her bed. To her surprise, Kakashi turned around to lie on his back. His contrasting eyes met her questioning ones. Kakashi acted very comfortable around Sakura, but the mask was one boundary she hasn't managed to break yet.<p>

"Can't sleep," came his raspy voice.

She laughed quietly and turned on her back as well, eyes lifted towards the ceiling. She hated moments like these when she had nothing to do and it was quiet enough for her to actually think. She use to love it, but all she could recall right now was how Naruto and Sai were missing.

"I'm miserable, Kakashi."

Her quiet voice seemed so small in the dark room. Sakura heard a groan and a few rustles. She turned her head just in time to see Kakashi climb onto her bed.

"Move over."

Numbly, she obeyed him. Instead of picking up her covers and diving right in, He lied on them, using his own blankets. Even on the same bed, there was a barrier between them.

"Sleep."

She turned her body completely now and smiled at his side profile.

"I'll sleep only if you do something for me. It'll make me really happy."

He tilted his head suspiciously towards her. "Do what?"

She snaked out a hand from her blanket and gently skimmed her fingertips against his cheek. Feeling around, she found the rim of his mask and made a timid tug.

"It's dark anyways. I won't stare."

"Why can't I keep it on? The mask makes _me_ really happy."

"Because I always feel that you get less oxygen with that mask on then you should...and that it'll give you some ugly skin disease because you don't allow your face enough air."

"My mask is very breathable and light weight."

"You owe it to me, Kakashi. I lied, I didn't really get to see your face that time."

Kakashi sighed at her blatant fib.

When Kakashi didn't say anything and Sakura's arm began to feel a little numb from waiting, she grasped the material between her fingers and pulled it down, letting her knuckles brush against his stubbles. The skin beneath was surprisingly still the same shade of pale as the rest of his face. It first revealed a straight nose and a pair of full, opened lips. He didn't have dimples like she always imagined, but a strong jaw line and narrow chin. He had an inch-long white scar on one side of it that seemed at least a decade old. Without his mask, he looked older, more masculine and more human.

"You shaved," she mused, index finger poking his cheek.

He scoffed and swatted her hand away. "My mask is breathable, but it gets stuffy with hair in the way."

With his face unabashedly facing hers, full view, Sakura was mesmerized.

"You should take it off more."

"But it takes away the fun of hiding my face behind a mask."

Sakura kissed him. She didn't inch forward slowly nor explore his lips gently. Her mouth moved forcefully and it wasn't long before she caught Kakashi up in her feverish moves. She clutched onto the collar of his shirt and savoured as much of him as she could. Sakura's been waiting, fantasizing about this so long that it didn't even feel like it was really happening. Watching his lips move was all too much. She groaned at the back her throat as his tongue swerved across her teeth.

"My god," Kakashi broke away, gasping, "Jesus, I can't..." he trailed off. He sounded scared and uneasy.

"Sorry," Sakura whispered with a small voice, her hands faltering.

She was losing her sudden high; the adrenaline was leaving her veins all too soon. Her previous boost of confidence was starting to leak out as soon as she fully realized what she had just done.

"Sakura," He said earnestly. His hands quivered around her waist, as if unsure what to do with them. His eyes met hers guiltily.

"Don't do that," she said quietly. "I won't tell anyone."

He shook his head as she reached out hesitant hands to him. Kakashi looked at Sakura full in the eyes and for once Sakura could see them bright and alive. It's like they both didn't know what to do with themselves. They couldn't simply jump out the window and never turn back.

Kakashi wouldn't say anything to Sakura. She knew he felt obliged to stay, but could tell he wanted to run. She just screwed this whole thing up.

He turned back onto his back and closed his eyes. She almost believed he actually fell asleep.

Then, finally, his reply, "Alright."

That was the last thing he said all night. It didn't reassure Sakura anymore, but it managed to loosen the noose around her neck just a tad bit.


	5. Chapter 5: Stupefaction

**Chapter 5**

**Stupefaction**

* * *

><p>Sai fidgeted as he watched her scrubbed her hands.<p>

This overwhelming sense he was getting from his chest was exhausting. He felt as if his heart was shrivelling up. Sai had felt it before, the dull ache in the back of his sternum, but now that he was training himself to actually _feel_, it was suffocating. To achieve human emotions was a very painful process. He inquired Ino (he would've asked Sakura if she was here, Ino was best friends with Sakura, therefore, Sai should ask Ino) about this peculiar _feeling_ and apparently, it was labeled as 'dread' or 'worry.' Dread. Even the word sounded painful.

"Quit staring at me like a toad," she barked, drying her hands.

Tsunade strolled to her cubby and grabbed her usual robe and threw it around her shoulders. She glared with annoyance at the lingering Sai as she tried to smooth down her hair.

"Don't have all day now so spit it out. It's the middle of the night and I won't mind locking you in here."

"It has been two weeks now," he proceeded cautiously, "and I was wondering if-"

"I'm sending out a small platoon in a few days. You don't have to bother me anymore."

"I see..." he drawled out processing, "And that specific team is...?"

"Not you. That's for sure."

Sai's smile faltered for a second before he turned it back up a notch.

"But I've got prior knowledge to the situation and-"

"I said no. Now stop stalking me all the time. I thought I told you to put your mind to other matters instead of them."

"I have put my mind to other matters. I would like the observe the daily routine of a medic nin, that is all."

* * *

><p>When Sakura gathered enough courage to roll over to his side of the bed, he was already gone. Still in the room at least, but noticeably on the other side. His mask crept back on his face and he was flipping through his little orange novel. Sunken into the rusty-red armchair, Kakashi remained oblivious to Sakura's watchful eyes.<p>

"Morning," she tested.

"Good morning," he replied, sliding a finger underneath a page to turn it.

Sakura played with the edge of her blankets absentmindedly, unsure on how to act. Raging ferocity because of his nonchalance? Tearful angst due to his ignorance? Or should she play the 'no big deal' game with him?

"Did you rest well?" Sakura tried again, feeling a little nostalgic.

It reminded her of when she was 5 years younger and dissected a reptile (fat lizard) for the first time. It was lying on it's spine, belly jutted out artificially, incredibly smooth and wobbly as the corpse was relatively new. She remembered feeling afraid to open up it's belly, scared of what contents could come gushing out. Sakura was in that situation again, scared of what words Kakashi would spew out.

"Did I..._rest well?" _

She fumed with indignation, "What?"

"Nothing, Haruno Sakura, I believe your pursuit of using proper languge is an exceptionally delightful mannerism for young ladies to achieve these days. Please do continue."

Sakura sighed. It seemed like he got high over things like this.

"Oh, and I _did_ rest well, thank you," he continued giddily, "And you? How did you fair?"

"Fucking great. Thanks."

In reality, horrible. After Kakashi responded to her, Sakura thought she could go to sleep and push everything away until tomorrow. In fact, she was absolutely _thrilled_ to share the bed with Kakashi; she didn't want to waste a second of it.

Yet, it was _because_ she was too excited, and nervous and jumpy at every single small movement that he made, that she hardly slept. Sakura laid in bed for an hour or so, listening to his breathing and trying to figure out if it was sleep-breath or awake-breath. Then, she fell asleep. Another 2 hours would past and she'd startled awake again. From there on, the cycle repeats until she felt the absence of his weight on the bed.

Lying there then, she'd occasionally glance over at Kakashi's silhouette for as long as she dared until she chickened out again and looked away. She was recalling what it felt like when Kakashi was still her secret superman and whisked team 7 away to exciting, new quests. He was a lot more serious back then, coated in the air of an authority figure. Though she acted indifferent and so god damn confident, she would zealously follow every word he said like it was gold.

"Are you hungry? I can go get some food while you get ready," he asked, dog-earing a page.

She shook her head slightly, "Nah. We should go out and eat. Like some sort of 'last day' celebration, you know."

He walked over and sat on the edge of his side of the bed. His side of the bed. Sakura liked how the words formed and connected together in her head.

"Why don't we celebrate _after_ the meeting?"

Sakura puckered up her lips in thought and then said, "Well..okay, fine."

"Then you promise me," he said, eyes smiling, "Even after the visit you'd still celebrate with me. You promise, okay? No running away."

She was utterly bemused, but got trapped by his proximity regardless. "Of course."

It felt like they were both part of an inside joke. Kakashi's eyes lingered on hers a fleeting second longer every time they caught each others' glances. He no longer had his eyepatch/forehead protector stretched over his sharingan. It was unsettling, but a baby step forward in Sakura's opinion. It has never felt like this before. It was always Hatake Kakashi and his pink haired pupil.

Sakura stretched out her legs and started to shuffle out of bed. She nudge Kakashi's shoulder playfully on the way up and proceeded to do a full yawn-and-stretch routine. Kakashi laughed quietly and commented that she reminded him of a cat. She stuck out a tongue at him, something she hasn't done in ages, and bumbled towards the toilet.

He chuckled again and plundged his head into the pillows, a hand tucked neatly underneath. She stole a glimpse of him (awful habit these days) and watched his chest rise and fall. He only had a fitted, navy blue t-shirt on. His shoulders weren't overly broad yet sturdy and defensive. The helpless part of her wanted to cling on to him and see what he smelled like in the mornings.

After Sakura spent her hour in the bathroom cleaning herself up, they were finally ready to go. The duo had some cashews and chips from the mini fridge section since it'll be some time before their celebration. Kakashi jiggled the doorknob and clutched onto it before he finally closed the door behind them.

"You nervous or something?" He certainly was, she knew that much. It was just the question of if he was going to admit it.

"Sort of." He glanced back at her and his eye crinkled happily. The pirate eyepatch was back in place. He insisted that they only put the hitai-ates on when they neared the village; he didn't want to cause too many disturbances. This most certainly lead Sakura to challenge his past words when they were in the village of Wheat.

"I quote, '_we needed to be seen, Sakura,'" _she had drawled with a low and overly somber voice.

All Kakashi had said in his defence was that he thought that this option was better. And apparently, there was just no arguing with the jounin.

Sharp, autumn breezes played with their hair as they made their way towards Kiri. On the streets, the morning was a lively time. Almost like Konoha. Food stands were crowded, laughing children rushed by and middle-aged women strolled along the streets picking groceries. Though the place was busy, they still stuck out like sore thumbs; a pink-haired, cat-eyed girl being accompanied by a silver-haired, eye-patched man was just such a sight to see.

"Let's take a shortcut," Kakashi said gallantly, leading them away from wary eyes.

They weren't even wearing their forehead protectors. He brought them to a winding and narrow path that detoured from the main streets. It didn't seem like much of an detour, but it was certainly more peaceful. The buildings were tightly packed with drying clothes hung out from balconies. Sakura eyed the heaps of garbage and scattered cardboard boxes all along the trail.

"Still had so many eyes on us even with out this," Sakura remarked, tapping the metal piece strapped around her hand, "I felt like I've got a third eye or something. It'll be even worse _with _this Konoha symbol broadcasted on our heads."

Kakashi shook his head and kicked a bottle back to it's pile of rubbish.

The rubbish pile responded, "Hey!"

They exchanged a quick, stupefied look before the pile began to rise and shudder. It groaned and wobbled as bits of garbage fell off. Suddenly, it exploded, revealing a human frame, dirtied clothes and a set of bright blue eyes.

"Holy shit!" Sakura screamed, jumping at the ragged boy.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and neck and squeezed like there was no tomorrow. With strange, animalistic cries, she clung onto him and pressed her cheek against his jaw line. Sakura weaved and clenched her hands in his blonde locks.

"Sakura-chan..." he exclaimed.

He gathered her up in his arms and tried to console the hyperventilating girl. She was all snot and tears and racking sobs that shook his body along with hers. Sakura abruptly pulled away from him and patted Naruto all over, as if checking to see if he was missing a chunk of himself. When she reached his mouth and then his nose and then finally caught his nostalgic eyes again, she burst into another round of wailing. He was alive and breathing. She could feel every strong throb of his heart, even through his shirt.

"You sure are torn up over me, aren't you," he cooed, showing his gigantic smile of white.

He jutted out his lips and leaned expectantly towards Sakura's lips. Her swollen eyes squinted even more and she dug her nose into his collarbone, forcing Naruto to awkwardly kiss her forehead instead. Kakashi watched all of this with a slightly annoyed expression.

"I missed you too, Naruto. Do I get a kiss as well?" he asked sarcastically, drawing the blonde's attention for the first time.

"Kakashi-sensei," he grinned, "You look well."

"Oh, thanks for noticing."

"Naruto," Sakura interrupted. She had her face inches away from his, eyes wide and watery. Her hands were tightly clutched onto his shoulders. She looked like she was about to deliver the world's fate to him.

"Where," she rasped, "Have you _been?"_

"When I was fighting some of the guys, we just kind of drifted off. I didn't know where I was then, so I kept walking until I saw signs that pointed to my bridge. So I guess I just followed the one thing that I knew."

Sakura whacked him on the head. She gave another slap on the cheek for good measure. He made a face.

"I missed you, alright?" she scorned.

"I'm flattered Sakura, but do you have to be so...emotional? We've been apart for months before already and I didn't see you crying an ocean for me back then."

All the while he spoke, she traced every detail of his face to his memory. She lingered on his azure eyes and watched them sparkle when they noticed her extra attention.

"He's got Sai, Naruto," she said quietly.

He frowned, scrunching up his face. "What? Who?"

"Sasuke-kun." Her gaze switched to the bottle Kakashi originally kicked.

"Sakura-chan," he responded with a frown, the laughter gone from his eyes.

She sighed deeply and tightened her arms around his waist again, sinking into his chest. Naruto was a line that she could cross. He was still convinced in his crush for her, but he was her friend above everything else.

"Let's get him clean and fed before we do anything," Kakashi budged in gently.

Naruto nodded with relief, glad to have a change of topic. He hated to see Sakura so meager. He hated to see what Sasuke turned her into. The blonde patted her back and pulled her off of him. He ducked his head a little to try and make eye contact with the girl.

"I swear, you're kinda like a leech now, you know, Sakura-chan," Naruto smiled.

"Leeches can save lives, you know," she sniffled defensively, "In fact, there was this one case that happened not too long ago when medics specifically brought in..."

By the time they reached a decent bathhouse, Sakura was nearing the end of her recitation. No one had the heart to interrupt her fascination with leeches since it seemed to be her way of coping, but Naruto was getting tired.

"...and as soon as they were placed on the man, you could visibly see them _swell_ with-"

"Sakura-chan," Naruto started.

"What?" she answered with a slight crease between her eyebrows.

"I love leeches as well, but I've got to go and wash up. Are you gonna be okay?"

She exhaled. The depths of his happy-go-lucky pupils was something that still amazed her to this very day. She didn't want him to disappear so soon.

"Fine, whatever. Bathe until you're wrinkly for all I care. You reek anyways."

Sakura gave Naruto a small shove on his shoulder and eyed him keenly. He seemed to have gotten the telepathic message and hurried along to the entrance. At the tidy wooden desk planted in front of the bathhouse, he shimmied out a few coins and placed them on the counter. She watched as he followed a brunette into the hallways. Kakashi was contemplating in silence.

"You should go take a bath in the meantime as well," he suggested, breaking up the silence.

"Why? I took one last night already."

"We aren't going to do anything until Naruto is done anyways, so..."

She looked skeptically at him," Why won't you?"

"I..." he paused, "Want to go to a local bookstore."

He patted the bulge in his pants pocket fondly. It was a wonder how he became a jounin, carrying a book around on missions. It was a wonder how he was admitted to become a teacher with such a perverse mind. He must be the reason his students turn out so strange. One abondoned his village. Another doesn't know how to avoid getting hurt. And the third, herself, has developed a crush on him. He's such a bad influence.

She grimaced and scolded Kakashi, "Oh, god. Get a grip of yourself, won't you?"

"Can't help it."

"You're disgusting."

"Might I remind you who _else_ read this book?"

Sakura fumed a brilliant shade of red and jabbed repeatedly Kakashi in the chest. He winced back slightly at each jab.

"Don't EVER mention that to _anyone. _Ever."

"'Course not, I'm using it as leverage," he replied shrewdly.

Kakashi petted her head before whisking away with a slow gait. His hands were stuffed in his pockets and the tip of his hair bobbed slightly as he walked away.

Sakura was left alone for the first time in many days and she felt strangely hollow. The street was filled with scrambling citizens making their morning walks and visits. From the left side of the roof, she could see steam wafting gently into the air. Sakura had plenty of time on her hands yet nothing to do with it. She had to find something fast or thoughts of Sai will slink back to her consciousness.

* * *

><p>Tsunade had her platoon all set, but there was just one thing that was lagging them behind.<p>

"But I can be of great assistance," Sai insisted.

He began to stretch out an awkward hand before the Hokage quickly grasped his wrist. Meanwhile, the platoon, Kiba, Shino, Aya (a medic newbie) and Genma, were sprawled on nearby rocks, waiting for the duo to finish.

"What are you trying to do?" Her eyes narrowed dangerously. From that point of view, it seemed like Sai was aiming for her neck.

"I was going to put a consoling hand on your shoulder to show trust and reliability."

She rolled her eyes and flicked his hand away, exasperated.

"He's improving," Kiba ventured, scratching the top of his white companion's head.

The four of them were debriefing with Tsunade when Sai popped in. She was running over the details of the mission personally (since she learned that even her jounin can neglect to do so) and explaining probable 'what-ifs' and things to look for. Sai had a painted mouse sitting nearby and when Akamaru bit down on it only to find his muzzle splattered with ink, Tsunade hollered.

"I can use my art justus to scout out the area-"

"That's why I appointed Shino."

"I was trained in Root so-"

"They were trained by Konoha too."

Tsunade crossed her arms over her breasts and looked at Sai intently.

"Look," Genma started, rising from his tree stump. The whole time, he had watched the two of them bicker with mildly interested eyes. He had other things to do today and so did Tsunade.

"Sai, when we find Kakashi and the others, we will bring them back. Either way, you'll see them again. You're a team right? You don't want to be out in the field when they finally get home. We can take care of the rest."

Sai frowned slightly and made a deep bow, "I mean no disrespect, but how can I idly sit by and wait?"

"They will, or well, Kakashi mostly, will go through hell when they gets back. You can be moral support. It will improve your people skills," Tsunade replied.

He gazed at his stump for a finger and nodded. "Okay."

* * *

><p>Sakura decided to be a good kuniochi and scout out the village beforehand. What if they were under a guerrilla attack and the three of them dumbly sauntered into the middle of it? What if they were hosting a fabulous and extremely traditional celebration when a few Konohas rudely barged in? That would make bonds even worse. Sakura ran through numerous situations in her head as she wandered about. She stopped occasionally to inquire local citizens where Kirigakure just might be.<p>

Naruto must have been in the process of picking himself up from the baths when Sakura arrived. It was misty here alright and the air was awfully thick. The dark velvet greens that grew along the buildings seemed alive with hidden secrets. Tall cylindric buildings stood towering as ever, their shadows lost in the heavy blanket of fog.

She scanned the area, squinting to find where the most friendly entrance would be. From the corner of her eye, she saw two figures. Her heart sped up and her movements became more careful as she inched towards the shelter of trees. Their existent flickered in and out of focus with the heavy mist and curiosity was urging her to take a closer glance.

She could almost make out voices. They were close, perhaps 10 feet away now, but their voices were drawn so low. Too low. Sakura couldn't wait to find out what the shameful secret was.

They were male voices. Male, adult voices. She leaned closer and narrowed her eyes.

They were a Kiri nin voice and a Kakashi voice.

Why the hell was he here? Was he scouting the place out as well? He was suppose to be flipping through porn novels at a bookstore though. She turned her attention back to them. Their postures were stiff and wary; it didn't look like Kakashi was here to catch up and gossip.

She gripped the kunai in her holster, out of habit and cursed that she didn't at least have shuriken on her. What the fuck was Kakashi doing? This obviously didn't seem like a friendly visit, but they were due to make an appearance there soon. How can that shinobi not know?

Or maybe the Mizukage didn't want too many people to know and simply kept this to herself. No, she's not stupid.

_So what the hell is he doing? Negotiating? _Age must be catching up with him.

But then, maybe Kakashi's strategy was working. They weren't fighting, after all. The two people had their heads slightly bowed towards each other. In fact, they were standing pretty close.

Oh god, maybe Kakashi's gay. That could be his secret lover out there; it must be a lover's quarrel. He must be very handsome for Kakashi to risk so much.

She mingled some chakra to the soles of her feet and crept up on them the way that, after years of training with him, Sakura knew Kakashi wouldn't hear.

"-you owe me that much. The visit will be very short and curt."

"Senpai," the Kiri began reluctantly, "I really am thankful for all you've done for me, but-"

"I gave your _life_ back to you. You have a lifetime of favours to pay me back. Your beating heart right now, is because of me. Your bright, new, bouncing family," he responded with an angry hushed voice, "is also because of me."

Sakura didn't follow the negotiations one bit. Visit? Her fingertips brushed the moist ground and her legs were frozen in a crouch. The weighty atmosphere did wonders concealing her presence.

"I'm suppose to report everything and everyone around here. Do you know how much trouble I'll get in for this? You being here is enough, but you want to bring Sakura and the Kyuubi here too?!"

"It's a fucking 5 minute visit. They're clueless; they won't suspect a thing. Just say the Mizukage is away and that you'll let her know that we came and that's all. It's simple as fuck."

What?

The kiri sighed, "Just admit to them it was a fraud-"

"I can't," Kakashi responded, flustered. "I'm going back now. In half an hour, I want you and only you to be here, waiting for us. We won't take a single step inside Kiri and you will recite to them what I told you and we'll be on our-"

"Happily merry way?" Sakura said.

She stood up and flexed her fingers around her kunai. The Kiri nin started.

"Shit," Kakashi said.


	6. Chapter 6: Out in the Open

**Chapter 6**

**Out in the Open**

* * *

><p>"<em>I...the mission. It's not her, it's the whole, damn mission. Choose another kuniochi for this. Or replace me; I'm not going to be the one to witness her finding out about this."<em>

_Tsunade glared at Kakashi._

"_Kakashi! I will not explain myself again! Sakura was chosen for this mission and that is final." _

_She paused for a second. In a softer voice, she added, "I don't want to put her through this either. It's just that she needs closure...and this is the best way for her to get it. I don't want to put her in any other shinobi's hands; she knows and trusts you the most. You should be the one to help them."_

_He shifted his weight from one foot to another. Kakashi looked longingly at the window behind Tsunade for a fleeting second._

"_Did something happen between you two?" she asked quietly. Too quietly._

"_No."_

_She scrutinized him, but his years of experience didn't allow him to leak anything on his face; he donned his usual stoic and lazy expression. The seemingly young woman sighed and dismissed him with a flicker of her wrist._

"_Just go. Don't question me again."_

_He turned and headed for the door, his fisted hands stuffed into his pockets._

"_And Kakashi..." she called out to his back, "you are an impervious piece of work, but Sakura's an open book to me. I'll find out whatever the hell you are hiding beneath that mask of yours."_

_He twisted the doorknob and left without another word. _

_Tsunade groaned loudly and lied her cheek down on her desk. What was Sakura hiding from her? She could tell that something happened to her. The girl had stopped pestering her for a few days and when she came back, she was different, more closed and moody. From Sakura's subtle cringes at random objects or words to the faint bruises she'd been trying to hide with her clothes, it was obvious that _something _happened. Tsunade tried bringing it up, but her eyes would go all wide and scared. Even the fearsome hokage didn't have the heart anymore to question her any further than that point. _

_The most obvious hint was when Kakashi was forced into the hospital one day for a routinely checkup. Honestly, it stirred up quite an uproar. Hatake Kakashi, rather famous for his techniques, tardiness and ability to dodge doctors, was actually found in the hospital...and he wasn't dead or near death, for that matter. With the knowledge that he was well and alive, his celebrity status got the best of him. Patients blushed and Nurses flirted. It was shameless._

_Meanwhile, Sakura and Tsunade were just a few doors away to progress through an intensive training session. It was when the examiner led Kakashi into their room, to pick up a few utensils, were the signs blatant. _

_Sakura was standing beside Tsunade, who was doing a demonstration on a pig liver. When the examiner knocked politely and bowed at the duo, Sakura looked up, smiled at her and immediately looked back down. Kakashi then too, nodded at Tsunade and then settled his eyes on Sakura. _

"_Kaoru. Kakashi," the hokage greeted. _

_She didn't notice it at first, but it almost became an uncomfortable itch she couldn't quite identify. She then realized that the whole while, Sakura was still digging holes into the organ with her eyes. Normally, the sight of her former teacher would stretch the girl's face into an affectionate grin. "Kaka-sensei," she'd josh. It was adorable really, how the older Sakura was still on good terms with him._

_Silence ensured while Kakashi ogled at Sakura who tried to look anywhere, but him, and Tsunade who squinted between the two of them. Then there was the clueless examiner who made a small victory whoop when she found the kit. Sakura's newly formed ticks started up again, the darting eyes, the deep swallows and rubbing of her wrists or neck._

"_Kakashi is here, Sakura," Tsunade had hinted._

"_Hello," she said absent-mindedly._

_Kakashi nodded. _

_It was from that moment that she knew_ _there was something ugly tying them together. It was then when she knew Kakashi knew what caused those ticks. Or if Kakashi was the one who caused those ticks._

_Back from her memories, Tsunade shook her head and swerved her chair around to stare out the vast window. She saw the outline of Kakashi as he walked away from the Hokage Tower. Her eyes followed him until he made a sharp left and veered towards the art store, hidden by the roof of another shop. No longer interested, the hokage turned back to her paperwork._

_When Kakashi arrived at his destination, Sai was mildly surprised when he found him at the entrance of his beloved store, a scroll hung limply from a gloved hand. He waved at him and Sai waved back with his newly bought paint brushes. He followed the jounin without another word, curious on what mission they were given._

_They sauntered down a couple of blocks in complete silence, Sai expectant and Kakashi contemplating, before he spoke alas. _

"_Can you keep a secret?" _

_Sai was giddy. Secret sharing was a sign of deep friendship and trust. He nodded._

"_Then don't tell Sakura about the mission," he paused, "Naruto either, just in case. I don't think he can keep his mouth shut."_

_That wasn't the type of secret he was expecting. That type of secret was regulation-breaking._

"_Why? What are we sent out to do?"_

"_It's no good for them," Kakashi, mumbled with a faint sheen of anger glinting his eye, "It'll hurt too much for their own good."_

_Sai waited for the jounin to continue. He seemed to need to rant first._

"_We...were given a mission to capture and kill Uchiha Sasuke. It was demanded directly from the elders."_

_Sai didn't know what to say. The infamous surviving Uchiha to be hunted and murdered. What an idea._

"_...why so suddenly?" _

"_They see him as their weak link, in a way. They've got some screwed up idea in their heads that once Sasuke is gone, Konoha can make its real 'brand new start' after the war."_

_Sai didn't have a really good impression of the sharigan user. He knew it was a taboo subject and never inquired much about it. He knew Naruto was angry and Sakura heartbroken. He assumed it was just one of those things people got over in time. _

"_Especially now," Kakashi continued, irritated, "After what Sakura went through-" _

_Sai swerved his attention to Kakashi. What about Sakura?_

"_Never mind," he stopped, agitated. "Just pretend you don't know about this. Go along with what I say. Let's not tell them yet. It'll get in their heads and make them too unstable to carry out a proper kill and retrieve mission." _

_He was concerned for Kakashi. Emotions and pity were not to muddle up directions. He should have known better. He was making a very desperate decision and it must have torn him up to ignore the rules so bluntly. _

"_They'll find out eventually."_

"_I know," Kakashi said, suddenly calm again, "I'll deal with it."_

"_...yes, of course." _

_Kakashi pressed the scroll into Sai's hands and gazed up at the sky. _

_He creased his eyes in a familiar smile and said, "Take this for now. I'm going to inform them, and I don't want that on me when I do."_

_Sai bowed and Kakashi left him. He unraveled the scroll and scanned through it. Perhaps it really was for the best of the former team 7. He looked at the spot where Kakashi was a minute ago. It was then when Sai realized just how many secrets Kakashi must have carried._

_He decided to saunter back to the street where the art store dwelled. On the opposite side, a few stores down, a new grill opened up. Kakashi said himself not to think too much of the mission. Perhaps he'd even look for Kiba and the others for a nice lunch together. Shino too, of course, because Sai felt a strange connection to him, both being socially awkward and all._

* * *

><p>In the mist village, Sakura tore open the grey haired nin's cover.<p>

The situation undoubtedly seemed very bad. Kakashi didn't tell the team where they were going. The team was attacked and somehow, everyone else, but Kakashi and herself were missing. He lied about where he went. Sakura found him communicating with the enemy, devising some plan to trick herself and Naruto. Guilt was written all over Kakashi's face and he didn't say anything.

"What?" She spat. "Aren't you going to spin more lies to me? Tell me that this is all visiting routine? That he's actually an undercover Konoha shinobi spying on Kirigakure? That you aren't selling us away to him?"

He looked blankly at her. That wasn't suppose to happen. Whenever Sakura made the wrong implications, he'd always sharply correct her and clear things up. The notorious copy nin was flustered.

"Sakura," he took a step and stopped.

"Just tell me this one thing. I don't want to know the details. I don't want to know what goes on in every screwed up corner in that brain of yours. Just tell me if you're still with Konoha or not," she said with her fists clenched.

He didn't say anything for the longest time, just stood there and studied her. She suddenly felt exhausted.

"I'm tired of you, Kakashi," she sighed, "I won't do anything either way so just tell me."

"I am with you," he said, "of course I am."

"Then what is this?!" she quivered, her chin rising up.

She thrusted an accusing finger at the other man while she desperately waited for a reply that could ease her misgivings.

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair, almost reeling over. He looked drained too. What ever secret he was carrying on his shoulders was wearing him down.

"I did it for you, Sakura."

Her blood boiled even more intensely.

"I fucking _hate _it when people say that. Do the whole 'it's for your own good' motion and pretend like they give a shit. Like putting someone in misery is 'good for them.' Don't pull that crap on me, Hatake."

She hoped her words stung. He didn't have trouble catching her eyes, but now, they were hollow, like they've given up.

"But I did, Sakura," he said earnestly, "I wanted...I wanted...it would have been too much for you. I was saving you from the hurt."

"And this, _this_ doesn't hurt at all right, having you stab my back and everything.**" **

Kakashi was exasperated with her, "No_,_ that's not how I meant it. I wanted to save you from the truth."

"What truth?"

He rubbed his eyelids. His expression resembled a kid who was told to confess if his friend really played the prank or if he himself was the real culprit. "About the mission."

She threw her hands up in the air and pushed out, making her little sign of defeat. She looked at Kakashi incredulously and almost laughed.

"Seriously? Are you fucking kidding me?! Are you saying that there is something _else _that you failed to mention to me the WHOLE MONTH we were here together?!"

The kiri was inconspicuously still there and shifted uncomfortably from one foot to another. It reminded him of when he was 6 and his parents argued 'till sunrise about his father's constant absences. He was going to butt in soon. The conversation sounded too personal for him to be listening.

"I made a hasty decision, I shouldn't have..." he trailed off. "I couldn't do that to you just yet, peculiarly after what happened with you and..."

She narrowed her eyes at her teacher. She didn't like the way that Kakashi was tying that incident into this whole mess.

"I need to tell you this with Naruto here," he said abruptly, "It's important for the whole team to be present-"

"Jesus, Kakashi! Why can't you just stop with all your bullshit once in a while? You are always such a jackass because God forbid you actually let yourself be human, right?!"

He stared. She was trembling.

"I did this _because _I actually let myself to be human this time," he whispered.

She was so tired of his crap.

"I try and try to sell my fucking self to get some sort of reaction from you, but every time you just walk on past me like I'm a kid you have to look after!"

She raged forward and flung a fist in his direction with full force. Kakashi stood there and braced himself for what will happen next. The angry punch turned into a small nudge; Sakura was already tumbling downhill from her high. She kept it there, her balled-up hand against his chest, and stood in front of him, shamefully spilling out tears. She was exhausted and spent.

"Why do you always do this to me?" she said bitterly, "It's always you who makes me feel like this."

Like she wanted to gauge out her chest with all the contents inside and sink her fingernails into her skin until blood welled up.

Then, she was there again, in that cold, _cold_ room with her shoulders bared and neck bruised. She was back to that place where she lied for hours, cheek pressed against the concrete floor until Kakashi found her. And back to when Kakashi pushed her out from his support. This time was like another slash at her frame. She squeezed her eyes. Why did he have to bring it up?

"You are being irrational, Sakura. Calm down, and see this from my point of view. I can explain this to you," he said, "I can tell you the truth."

She didn't know what to do. There wasn't anything she _could _do. They couldn't stay here forever. She couldn't simply ditch him at Kiri because he seemed hellbent to prove himself. She couldn't just go back to Konoha with him happily, knowing that he...what the hell did she know? He said he wasn't consorting with the enemy, but he's obviously lying about something. Sakura was confused out of her mind.

"You take me to Naruto. You tell us what we want to know and we, not you, decide what to do."

There goes all that trust accumulated from 6 years of acquaintanceship. It was all gone.

"So..." a timid voice scooted in, "You two won't be coming back? I won't report this if you all just go on your way."

Her head snapped up in the direction of the voice. The awkward kiri-nin was still there, faithful for further directions. She couldn't hate him really. Just wary.

"Go," Kakashi said.

He nodded and hesitantly turned back before disappearing, "Sorry senpai."

Kakashi turned to Sakura. The air of teasing humour and blitheness was gone. It was just Kakashi and his big, fat, stupid mistake. She scoffed at him and crossed her arms over her chest. She pointed with her chin.

"You go first."

* * *

><p>A quarter of an hour brought them to an impatient blonde.<p>

"Oh, come on, Sakura-chan," he said when they came into view, "Don't pick up Kakashi's late habits too."

He stopped when he saw them. As a team, they were always in sync with each other. Between the remaining three of them, Naruto definitely sensed it.

"Um."

"Kakashi," she spat.

Naruto glanced at Kakashi with a 'ohhh, you pissed her off' look and directed his attention back to Sakura. He couldn't wait to hear about what prank the man played on her this time. She was giving an overly big reaction, in Naruto's opinion. The man always fooled around; Sakura should have known better. Naruto felt sorry for him. She glared at Kakashi like she would at the old (God rest his wretched soul) 'Madara.'

"Sensei?" Naruto looked at Kakashi in confusedly. What was Sakura spouting out?

While Sakura was angry and ranting, Kakashi was just agitated and impatient. She didn't waste any time in catching her breath, she dove right into all the juicy details she found out about Kakashi. All the while, said grey-haired jounin shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, frowning.

"Sakura does not understand the situation," he simply stated when Sakura finished.

That awarded another incredulous string of curses from Sakura. She pointed a finger at the grey haired man and said, "Are you fucking with me?! I should have you tied up and unconscious right now."

"Sakura-chan, wait," Naruto said, eyeing Kakashi, "What do you mean, sensei?"

"Sakura..." he faltered for a bit, lost for words.

That was all Sakura needed to swoop in.

"He lied about the mission!"

Naruto scratched his head, dumbfounded. Then, his eyes lit up.

"Oh yeah. Kakashi-sensei, you haven't told us what we're suppose to do yet."

The pinkette stopped in her tracks. That was when she remembered that Kakashi never had the chance to tell Naruto. So according to Naruto, Kakashi simply withheld the information for a longer than necessary period of time.

Kakashi gestured his hand towards an ominous pebble road that led a little ways away from the heart of the town. Naruto marched past him and Kakashi stood there, waiting for Sakura. He looked like he was about to cringe.

"C'mon."

Oh god it hurt to look at him.

Sakura followed hesitantly. When Kakashi found a clearing, he told Naruto and Sakura. Blatantly. The whole truth. Apparently he wasn't going to bother with all that 'don't want to hurt you' bull again. The wind kissed Sakura's face and she tilted her chin up. Naruto soaked up the facts in silence. She couldn't say anything either. They all had to face it.

"How could we?" he said faintly.

His usual raspy tone was devoid of any blithe.

"Didn't we get enough of this? Wasn't Chōza enough?! Why can't they just let it go? Dammit!" He pounded a fist onto the soil.

Naruto just made it extremely uncomfortable. Uchiha was a subject never to be discussed. Chōza was also another subject never to be discussed. Yet it was difficult not to because when one thought of Uchiha, he was also there too.

"He wasn't the only one, Naruto," Kakashi reminded him quietly, "There was-"

"I _know."_

"They held grudges. The 'cutting lose ends' excuse was just a means of getting back at him. Chōza was a very important jounin to us and they couldn't let his death-"

"But it was over! The war has ended and that's that! Why can't they-"

"_Naruto._" Kakashi said sternly. "Sasuke killed Chōza. He almost killed Shikamura too. Get that in your head. He didn't hesitate coming after any of us either."

"Yeah and remember what Konoha did to him? Dragged out his blood, healed him over and over again just so you guys can start all over again?"

"Why are you defending him, Naruto," Sakura said monotonously.

Throughout the argument, she sat like a stone, eyes hard and fists clenched. She remembered back to that time. When she saw Sasuke again. She could still remember the frightening surprise of his appearance...and the gruesome scars at his collarbones, his arms.

_'Sakura,'_ Sasuke had said to her._ 'Are you afraid?'_

"I-," Naruto fumbled for words, "I didn't mean to."

The three of them were a mess. Sasuke's appearance near the end of the war was the mother of all taboo subjects. No one wanted to acknowledge what he did and what they let Konoha do to him in return. It was a miracle, really, how he managed to escape. It was an even bigger miracle that they managed to hold down the Uchiha for so long. Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi were close. But they just didn't talk. It was better that way.

"It's just that when he came back...I didn't expect him to try to..._kill _us..."

"And succeed..." Kakashi interrupted Naruto.

"Then never appeared again after that. Can never tell what he's thinking, huh," Naruto finished.

Kakashi glanced at Sakura and Sakura stared harder into the ground to avoid looking at him. They both shared the same thought; Sasuke _did_ come back, just that only Sakura and then Kakashi knew.

It's almost been a month and really, they've just started their real mission. Sakura didn't know what to do with this whole thing. She slowed her heartbeat in the silence and breathed in through her nose, out through her mouth. Just like she would in training. It was gorgeous to be out of Mist again and the tranquility of the spot Kakashi chose was soothing. She wished she didn't feel so empty though.

Naruto was about 12 feet away from her, legs crossed and elbows on his knees. He didn't look at Kakashi nor did Sakura. Truthfully, it wasn't his fault. All Kakashi did was be too soft. It was the elders, the whole group of behind-the-scenes planners that created this task. Kakashi looked at the two chunins.

"Let's go then."

Naruto stood up and lightly dusted his pants. Sakura looked up.

"What? It's the only thing to do. Kakashi isn't plotting to kill us so there's no point making yourself more angry over it. Let's get this over with and go home," he ended on a softer note.

The trio found themselves in a befuddling situation.

"You know what, I'm going to eat some food first," Naruto stated.

Sakura sighed and watched helplessly as the blonde stiffly walked away with his shoulders hunched. She looked at Kakashi and caught him in the middle of a stare.

It sucked how great they were these past few days and how fast they came to this stage. Sakura absentmindedly rubbed her neck again. Kakashi frowned.

"You're doing that again."

"Doing what?" she said irritatedly.

"Your..." he waved his hand in her general direction, "little habits. You know, the shoulder rolls, the fidgeting...neck rubbing."

Her hand pressed harder.

"You should stop" he said quietly.

She looked up at Kakashi through her lashes and felt another pang of exasperation.

"I don't hate you directly," she said.

If he had canine ears, she would have seen them swerve towards her attentively. His eyes remained steady.

"Not for this anyways..."

Rub, rub, rub

"Like...I know this actually isn't your fault..."

rub, rub

"but you're not off the hook for what you did to me before and"

She suddenly jerked away. He had reached out a hand to stop her scratching and rubbing, but as soon as his fingers came in contact with her, she jerked. Resentment flared up in her eyes again.

"_Don't."_

They waited in silence until the bouncing blonde came into the clearing. He at least seemed considerably brightened. Naruto stuck out his hand and showed the numerous balls of glutinous flour skewered on sticks.

"Got you guys something."

* * *

><p><em>AN: Please shoot me a review! They mean the world to me :)_


	7. Chapter 7: Whisked Away

**Chapter 7**

**Whisked Away**

Sakura eyed the drooping balls of dango. They were drizzled with a sweet sort of umber sauce and skewered through a wooden stick. She used to have those all the time in Konoha. Every single Tuesday afternoon, when Sakura came back from her morning training in the Hokage tower, she would pass by Kakashi who would be going there for his weekly reports. It became a tradition for them to sit down and share a few bites of the dish.

Naruto smiled and motioned a stick towards her. She felt a bad taste in her mouth.

"Take it, Sakura-chan, I've bought plenty for all of us."

The girl wrinkled her nose and said, "No, you can have my share. I don't have any appetite."

He frowned and shrugged before he dug into them with pompous bites.

"Girls," he remarked, "Right, Kakashi-sensei?"

Naruto turned to offer some to his sensei as well. Once again, he was stood up.

So then, while Naruto was chewing, Sakura was standing and Kakashi was standing. All three of them were in a loose circle facing each other and it was just so incredibly stiff. Not for the oblivious blonde, of course.

"Actually, yes, I'd love to to have some of that," Kakashi said suddenly, snatching a stick from Naruto's hand.

The boy in the orange jumpsuit grunted and resumed his chomping. When he was done licking on his fingers, and Kakashi finally finished nibbling his dango (and eventually chucking away half of it), the trio set off again. They didn't have much of an idea of where they were going so the jounin summoned the only thing he's ever seemed to have summoned before. With a pop and a flurry of smoke, the pug appeared again.

"Ohh..." Pakkun wrinkled his nose, "The air doesn't smell all too nice here."

Sakura looked down her nose at him, who gave her a cheeky dog-smile. His attention was then switched to a more pleasant person.

"Pakkun!" Naruto gleamed.

The little pug wagged his tail contentedly at an actual welcome before Kakashi cleared his throat.

"Pakkun," he started, "I need you to try to get any bits of Sasuke's scent around here. I'm sure that-"

"That was what I was talking about back there," Pakkun said gruffly, "Sasuke's scent is overpowering here. It's all around us."

All three of them stiffened and drew out kunais. Pakkun shook his head and almost rolled his eyes at them. Humans. What a paranoid bunch.

"No_, _he's not here _right now_. The scent is kind of old, but he's been here all right. That's all."

"Is there a trail?" Kakashi asked, slipping his kunai back out of sight.

"Yeah, a really nice one too, in fact."

Kakashi frowned. Shinobi were trained to be paranoid and this was too spontaneous. Months after his disappearance, there wasn't a single hair of his that could be found. But then, suddenly, they were able to find a perfect trail of his scent? He exchanged glances with Naruto and Sakura. Even the boy with whiskers on his face wasn't that dense.

"But we can't just leave this," Sakura pointed out, "Even if it _is_ a trap, he was still here. That is more than we've accomplished in like...forever."

Naruto nodded sagely. He looked at Kakashi and waited for some sort of reaction from him. So what will it be?

"We should follow the trail then," the man said, turning away from Sakura's hopeful eyes, "But we can't be directly on the trail. I want us to be at least 50 metres away from it, just in case. It'll only give us a few seconds to our advantage, but those few seconds-"

"are what determines our life," Sakura finished reciting for him, "We get it. Seconds count. You should really get some new sayings, sensei, they are getting old. Like you."

Kakashi's eyebrows raised slightly at the return of the girl's sarcasm.

"What?" Sakura said.

"Nothing. Pakkun, lead the way," he shook his head and walked away.

She sighed and tumbled along after them, kicking pebbles as she went. To be frank, she was excited. Uneasy, but incredibly excited. They were going to Sasuke. And, they've been lucky enough to only encounter forested areas so far. Traveling by foot would have been such a pain. Those facts were enough lifted her spirits to a more tolerable point.

Kakashi and Pakkun were in front, already skitting from tree to tree, closely followed by Naruto. She bent her knees, flexed her hands and the chased after them as well.

"Stay in the trees, you are more vulnerable on the ground," Kakashi called out.

"Oh Kay!" Naruto responded.

Sakura looked forward to spending this however long period time alone while she processed all the mucked up things she felt inside. Naruto, however, loved attention. He slowed down his pace until he was criss-crossing the trees with Sakura.

"Sooo..." Naruto began, like a girl trying to pry out gossip, "I haven't seen you in a long time."

She glanced sideways at him before she landed on another branch and scoffed.

"You are seeing me now."

Naruto quirked his mouth to the side and said, "Well, _yes, _but I'm talking about you know, the last few weeks. It's okay, it's only you and me right now. You can admit how much you've missed me. Tell me about it. Pour out your feelings to- umph"

Sakura casually stepped in front of his path and caused him to lose balance in order to prevent himself from ramming in to her. He landed on a shrub below and bounced back up again.

"Nope. No thoughts of you. Not really."

Naruto sighed with dramatic woe.

"How was it actually then," Naruto asked again, "And how come you and Kakashi are together?"

She pondered it as the leaves brushed her arms and legs. How was it that he miraculously appeared at the doorsteps the next morning?

"I don't know. He found me. Somehow. Having him around didn't make life any better though. I mean honestly, if he was going to choose such a crappy hotel to save money, we might as well continued to sleep in the trees. That way, -"

"Wait, you guys were together that long? I thought we all just met up with each other a few days ago."

Oh shit. Leaping and talking weren't things that were easy to balance. It's hard to multitask.

"It wasn't _that _long, really."

"Wait, so like how long? A week? _More? _Like, all alone with sensei for more than a week? Sakura-chan, why are you blushing?"

On cue, she fumed even redder. She mumbled a 'knock it off' and sped ahead. Inwardly, she groaned as the blonde's frame got smaller, but Kakashi's got bigger. It's like she could never escape them. She didn't want Naruto to think about them. Thank god he wasn't Ino though, or else dirty thoughts would spread like wildfire, in around Ino's head and right out of her mouth.

Naruto's eyes lit up as an idea came into his head, "Sakura! Did you..."

She braced herself.

"...get to see Kakashi's face?!"

That was all? Looking back, she remembered the trio of them, Naruto and Sasuke, then Sai and herself trying to figure out what was under that navy piece of cloth. Now, that was like old news to her.

"No."

Naruto deflated and continued to stride, considerably slower now. "Bummer."

"I doubt a lot of people actually have seen his face either so it's not a big deal."

He laughed at her and putted on a sleazy face, "Oh? Actually, I heard tons of people have seen his face. And more."

She kept silent.

"I know, weird imagery, huh..." Naruto tried to dispel the awkwardness he created, "very weird..."

"Oh, whatever," she said, and sped up her pace.

Of course, it's not like he's a virgin who's never loved anybody and has been untainted by any previous women. He's probably been with a countless number and could get the most eligible bachorlette in Konoha. Probably already has. Sakura knew all of this somewhere in the back of her mind, but she romanticized her worth to him all this time and...and this made her realize just how small she may be to Kakashi.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out breathily, "Wait! Wait up."

"C'mon, sensei isn't going to slow down. You need to burn all that extra dango off!" she replied over her shoulder.

But Kakashi was slowing down, probably because she heard his remark. She used this chance to take another glimpse of Naruto, only to have found him heaving against a tree trunk, his butt firmly stuck onto the branch, unwilling to move. Sakura bellowed out a long moan and leapt back to Naruto's tree. Kakashi should figure out sooner or later that no one was following him anymore. She wanted to avoid talking to him as much as possible.

Sakura settled lightly on the arm of the tree and walked over to where Naruto looked like he was about to fall asleep. She bit back a snarl and crouched down to ruffle his hair.

"Naruto, dear, would you please get up?"

"Sakura-chan, I feel...nauseous. Like there is something rolling around in my stomach or something."

"You have a stomach-ache?" she asked unimpressed.

The earlier burst of adrenaline completely flooded out of her as Naruto basically announced that he needed to go take a dump.

"You too?" Kakashi said and landed on another tree arm above them.

She thought back to what Naruto said and looked at him. He _was _a catch, wasn't he...even with most of his face covered up, anyone could make out his handsome and defined profile. He looked back. She turned away.

"Seriously, stomach-aches?" Sakura said to no one in particular.

This had to be the most depressing 'obstacle' they have encountered yet. It was one of those things that are really small, but actually do hurt a lot. Like toenails clipped too deep right before a race. Or in this case, a bad stomach.

"I don't actually have a stomach-ache, I just feel light-headed. I think it was the dangos you got us, Naruto."

Naruto's stomach grumbled just in time. His eyes turned into two curved lines and his mouth hung open in a whimper. She grasped his shoulder roughly and then gave his cheek a series of short slaps. How did he get so lazy?

"C'mon, Naruto. Respond to me. Where does it hurt? I can make the pain go away for a little while."

"I don't know," he mumbled breezily, "My stomach I think...actually my sternum...actually, it's kind of like..."

The rest of his words were no longer coherent because blood bubbled out of his mouth in a thin stream. Naruto began to choke.

* * *

><p>"Give it up, buddy, next time you walk in there, she really will kill you."<p>

Sai responded to Kiba with a slight smile. He turned back to the door that he had knocked on every 10 minutes or so (for the last hour) and raised his knuckles to it again. Ever since he gave up on the notion that he could be part of the backup squad, he focused his mind on other matters like the actual launch of it.

"I really wouldn't do that if I were you. Tsunade's got some paperwork she needs to fill out and for some reason, needs Genma in there too. I heard it was some mission that went awry while he was captain, but uh, anyways, we won't be able to go until he's done."

"Awry?" Sai pursued, momentarily distracted.

"Yeah. Like messed up big time."

The big ball of white fur whined in agreement. Does Kiba ever part with him? Sai frowned. He felt even more reluctant to let that group go.

"It'll be fine, people learn from their mistakes," he murmured to himself and then knocked the door. "Tsunade-sama, it is-"

"Do NOT come in."

He frowned and simply stood very close to the door.

"Is Kakashi's backup going out yet?" Sai inquired...again with a slight hint of agitation.

Tsunade, however, did not know how to hold back.

"My GOD, Sai! I will send them when I please! I _am _the Hokage after all! What? Am I doing something wrong? Do you think you can do a better job then me? Would _you _like to be the Hokage?!"

"I think you are an excellent Hokage, Tsunade-sama. It is just that I am highly concerned about Kakashi's squad."

"Our village is very shorthanded right now, Sai. You know I can not spare anyone. Genma will be able to go soon."

"Or, I can go in his place and we can leave right now."

"_No, _you have been ordered to help the villagers and patrol the village. You are not well enough to be sent out yet. Who let you out of the hospital, anyways."

They've repeated this conversation many times prior and it always ended like this. Every single time. Tsunade said no. Sai got sad and Kiba had an 'I told you so' smirk.

"But-"

"This is the last time, Sai. I've order the shinobi stationed here that the next time they see you walking towards my hallway again, you are to be escorted out immediately. Now run along and draw. I have enough faith in Kakashi and so should you."

He stared at the texture of her mahogany door. "So in an hour-"

"Yes. One hour. Goodbye."

Sai turned away from the door and sat beside Kiba and his quick-breathed dog. He just got kicked out by the Hokage...even though he wasn't really 'inside' in the first place. At least she didn't have the satisfaction of slamming the door in his face. Kiba grinned a toothy grin at him and petted Akamaru.

"So since you are done your raging, do you want to go now?"

Sai stared blankly. A lightbulb went off in Kiba's head.

"Oh, did I not tell you yet? Everyone is gathering at Chouji's favourite grill to celebrate his birthday today. They told me to fetch you since you have been moping around too much lately. We don't have much time until we set off, but we should drop by. You want to go?"

They were hosting a party? While Kakashi and Naruto and Sakura could be lying in some hidden ditch somewhere?

"Of course, I'd be delighted."

Sai walked beside Kiba as he rambled on about the littlest things that people never actually care about, but pretended to anyways.

* * *

><p>"Oh my god," Sakura whispered, her eyes wide.<p>

For a second, she couldn't do anything. It was Sai and his gushing stomach again.

"_Sakura." _

She startled. "Okay, we need to get him on the ground."

Kakashi scooped him up gently and landed next to her. Frantic, Sakura placed her hands on his stomach and stitched up her eyebrows together in deep concentration. She exchanged a long glance with Kakashi and began her medical jutsu. He crept over and lied Naruto out. Kakashi tilted Naruto's chin a bit for to get a better airway and meanwhile tried to soothe him. The blonde's breathing and movements were heavy, but his heartbeat was quick as a rabbit's.

Sakura spread her chakra inside his stomach and stifled a gasp. It was horrid in there. As soon as she mended the burning gaps, new ones corroded and scalded again. She didn't even know what it was. She needed supplies or herbs or anything. Emergency first aid wasn't going to save him.

"Oh shit, it's really bad," she said angrily.

"Sorry," Naruto replied faintly.

She looked over, surprised that he was still conscious and lifted a gentle hand to his forehead. In seconds, he fell asleep and perfectly mimicked a child content in his crib.

"Hey, I..." Kakashi started, shaking his head slightly, "Remember how I ate some of the dango as well...?"

"_Oh," _her heart squeezed, "Oh, ok. Symptoms?"

"I'm not as bad as Naruto...I just feel a little...disheartened," Kakashi said.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him.

"Ok, fine, I feel queasy, like being seasick. I'm fine though, I'm use to it."

"Of course you are..." she murmured.

She spent another minute in silence, trying frantically to heal the cuts while looking for the source. Naruto's pulse was fading and if he didn't have the Kyuubi inside of him, he would have been dead.

"I need back up Kakashi. I need to go back to the village," she admitted.

Leaves rustled at the end of Sakura's peripheral vision and she stiffened. There were people coming. Oh please god, let it be-

"We found you," a toothy, violet eyed boy grinned.

Her heart dropped into her stomach as Kakashi stood in front of them protectively, his unclothed sharigan swirling into place.

"Suigetsu," Kakashi spat out.

The shark boy didn't look like he aged at all. He had the same lanky build and his shaggy, milky hair was as limp as ever. Behind him appeared another series of ninjas, all equally gifted with the strangest features, ranging from beak-like noses to moss-tinted skin. So this was the company Uchiha kept.

"We need to get out of here, Kakashi," she whispered hysterically, "Naruto-"

"_Naruto_ won't be going anywhere. Sasuke wants to see him. We went through all the trouble of subdueing him..."

Kakashi was giving hand signals to her. He was going to plant smoke bombs. She was going to run. He was going to stay.

"...And it'll be a waste really, to let him go already. Don't fret, the poison isn't fatal...just incredibly near it," Suigetsu ended with an excited clap of his hands for effect.

She daren't move. She wanted to scream out to Kakashi that she did _not _ like the plan at all. She didn't want him to pretend to be the hero. She didn't want him to be like his father and care too much for his squad and take all the responsibility. It was almost as if he heard her because he inclined his head slightly to the left, enough for her to see just the outline of his eye.

With his all too familiar speed, he smashed a wall of smoke bombs between himself and the others. He quickly leapt back to Sakura and grasped her shoulders. She was crying.

"Go and get help for Naruto. I'll hold them back-"

"_Don't don't don't, _please, don't do this,"she said frantically, clawing at his vest to get a better grip of him.

He held his breath for a second before he squeezed her to his chest. Her eyes flung open and sought Kakashi's, but all she could see was the green of his vest. He stepped back and scanned the horizon for the enemies. The smoke was going to disperse soon.

"Kakashi," she whispered frantically.

"You have to go, Sakura, _now,_" he whispered insistently.

Another kunai barely missed Sakura. They were getting closer now.

She pressed her body as tightly as she could to Kakashi's and grasped his neck closer. She tugged down the mask feverishly and bruised her mouth against his. Their lips smashed against each other, tongues desperately exploring . Their breathes made the air around them sweltry and all Sakura could feel was the building fear and Kakashi. Kakashi. Sakura drank him in and dashed her fingers up and down in his hair, trying to as close to him as she can. He pulled her away, eyes searching.

"You shouldn't have pulled that trick, Kakashi. Smoke only lasts for so long," a voice hung in the air

Sakura could see the faint shadows of the men already.

She grabbed onto him and brought her face within inches of his, "You better come back to me, Kakashi."

Sakura backed off and slunk Naruto's arm around her shoulder and jumped onto the nearest tree. Sakura did not look back. It would kill her. As much as she believed in him, there was no way Kakashi could fight them off with something slowly corroding him from the inside.

She flung herself expertly from tree to tree, fleeing back to where they began. She had to get Naruto back to Konoha. Sakura held on to Naruto tighter and sped up her pace.

"We'll be just fine, Naruto," she said aloud to the sleeping form, "I'm going to save your sorry ass so you can feel like crap when you wake up."

His hair tickled her cheek.

"You still owe me like ten bowls of ramen. And lots of milk too. What is wrong with you anyways? Who is actually stupid enough to drink expired milk anymore?"

That was how she entertained herself for the next few hours. She didn't stop to rest because slowing down would only give her grief. She didn't even stop at the edge of the Wave Country; she basically jumped on the first boat he saw and half threatened, half bribed the sailor to take her to the Fire Country. Sweat trailed down from her hairline and dripped from her chin. Her moist hands were slippery and she didn't have as strong as a grip on Naruto as she would have liked.

At least she was back in the beloved forestry that she grew up in. It's been almost a month. She's been on missions that lasted longer, but never one that hit so close to her heart. She missed this place so much. She missed Kakashi so much.

"Almost there, egghead," she rasped to Naruto, "I'm going to make you my slave when we get back."

She tumbled through the thicket and slowed to the jog. The place was getting familiar. Wasn't that where Tsunade told her to wear gloves the next time they went training outside? Her vision was cloudy and her pulse filled her ears. Her mouth was parch dry and she could taste blood at the back of her throat. She couldn't run anymore.

She slowed to a ragged walked. Almost, almost...

"Sakura?"

It was a girl with black hair twisted into two buns. Tenten. She rushed over to the pinkette and supported her weight.

"Rush Naruto to Tsunade. Hurry," Sakura mumbled

"But you-"

"I'm fine. He's not. Hurry."

With Naruto taken from her hands, she plopped down on the soft, earthy grass, onto her stomach and turned her head to the side. Immediately lying down wasn't a good thing to do after such a straining run, but she didn't want to move. Sakura would pick herself up eventually.

How was Kakashi doing?

She squeezed her eyes to relive how Kakashi looked to her back then. His eyes were confused and searching and jumpy. And so alive. She remembered how quick his pulse ran against her fingers. She made another mistake and will most likely pay hell when he gets back. Oh god, the embarrassment.

She groaned and lifted herself with an elbow. All that was left for her is to help Naruto in the way she couldn't help Sai.


	8. Chapter 8: Absence

**Chapter 8**

**Absence**

After what seemed like a terribly long blink, Sakura found herself watching different hues of green slide past her, like staring at a train rush by on the platform. Cool wind blasted her face every time the thing lurched her body upwards again. She tried to crane her neck around to make sense of everything, but her head throbbed and her throat burned. The last thing she remembered was feeling how her elbow hurt when she leaned her weight on it.

She descended, pink tresses lifting up from her forehead, and lurched up yet again, the rhythmic gust of air hitting her face repeatedly. Sakura tried to move.

"Stop it," the thing she was attached to grumbled, "You dislocated your elbow."

It sounded a lot like Neji. In fact, the gusts of wind actually felt a lot like hair, long, black, Huuga-styled hair. With that fact in mind, her head cleared up some. Her arms were wrapped clumsily around Neji's neck and she felt his sweaty palms grasped around her popliteals (the backs of knees), trying to keep her from falling off.

She tried to fasten her arms around him tighter and felt sharp pain around her right elbow. She couldn't feel her hand.

"Naruto," she croaked, trying to suppress the panic she felt when she realized her right hand was numb.

"Iwashi has him," was the response.

"Iwashi...?" she murmured to herself groggily, "Pointy-Beard?"

Sakura heard him smirk and say, "Yeah, but actually, he just shaved it a few days ago for a bet."

"Neji..." she said, trying to form the words together, "There's something real important...I..."

"Be quiet, don't stress yourself out. You look awful already as it is."

"No..." she struggled, "important...I gotta...tell..."

"Save it for later Sakura, we've got you and Naruto. There's nothing to worry about."

By the time he finished the sentence, Sakura was no longer listening. It was hard enough to stay awake as it was. There was something really important that she needed to remember, but she no longer could. She flickered in and out of consciousness throughout the run home.

Tenten had found them more than 200 miles from Konoha. Sakura could have sworn they were just a few metres away, but then again, her senses were hardly stable. Luckily, the dark-haired girl just happened to be returning to the village from a quick mission or else they never would have been discovered. Neji and Iwashi were there with her then, but Sakura couldn't remember anything except Naruto and Tenten until she woke up on Neji's back.

They carried Naruto and herself all the way back to the village, straight into the hospital. They were immediately hooked to different machineries that Sakura knew by heart. She watched as they wheeled him away from her as she was strapped helplessly onto her own bed. She blacked out after that.

* * *

><p>Sakura woke up with a start, heart pounding and forehead beaded with sweat. She found herself staring at a black and white speckled ceiling with the buzzing of the lights as the only sound in the room. The first thing she noticed was how her throat still felt like sandpaper. At least her head stopped spinning. Sakura testily tilted her head to both sides, trying to yet again adjust to her settings. Her arm was strapped in a sling and she could barely feel her hand still. Didn't Neji say something about her shoulder?<p>

It was disorienting to see through the eyes of a patient instead of a medic. She lied in bed and started to count in her head. One, two, Three Four...

There was something clawing at her, biting her, willing for her to _remember. _

Twenty three, twenty-four, twenty-five...

She stopped counting. Her mind wasn't in the right place, but nevertheless, she felt like she had to do something, go somewhere. With painfully slow movements, she tugged off the tube that connected her vein to the iv fluids irritatedly and tried not to wince from the pain. She slowly eased herself off the bed.

"Up you go," she said softly, "You can do this, Sakura."

Her knees were incredibly wobbly, but other than the constant stumbles and mini breaks she had to take, Sakura could move around. The jelly legs lead her to a surgical room where bodies came in and out like flies buzzing around a pile of apple cores. She wondered what was inside. She stayed to the walls and tried to get a closer look. Medic Sakura knew that she shouldn't go in, but Human Sakura kept on wandering. She shadowed a nurse too busy to notice and slipped in.

The lights were always so blindingly bright. The walls pristine and workers subdued. Sakura usually didn't go into ER very often, much less the emergency surgical rooms. Being a hot head herself, she liked to be out in the open and be able to dive in and patch up the problem, quick as a hare. She didn't like to be caved in, surrounded by numerous tools and complicated problems. She didn't like the feeling of having everything human kind could possibly come up with and still feel scared.

But nevertheless, she was still there, eyes clouded. The rhythmic beeps of the EKG soothed her like a lullaby to an infant. She stumbled closer and found herself peeking over the shoulders of the medics to find the bright bundle of blonde. They were hovering over Naruto's still body.

Then it all came back to her.

"Sakura-san! What are you doing here?! Who let you in?"

She looked up and tried to focus on the medic in front of her. Fear suddenly swept over her.

"You mustn't be here! God, you can't-"

"Kakashi!" Sakura gasped, grasping the medic's arm.

Several heads raised in alarm.

"I...Kakashi! He's...we..we have to go...my god..." she choked out, sobs erupting from her chest.

"What?" Said the confused women.

"He's going to die!" she screamed, eyes glassy, "Sasuke has him! Oh god..oh god...Sasuke...Sasuke, Sasuke-"

Sakura's whole body shook as she tightened her grasp onto the medic, convulsing and struggling for breath. 'Not this again,' she thought mentally before she violently clutched the front of her shirt, trying to wretch it away from her neck. It felt like it was shrinking, tightening its grip around her throat. She felt like her body was being squeezed, smaller and smaller. The medic stared in horror as Sakura keeled over. Animalistic wails escaped her throat and tears rushed uncontrollably out from her eyes.

"We have to go _save..._" she breathed desperately.

The ground jumped up from her feet and she dug her nails harder into the medic's arms to keep herself from falling down the black pit suddenly formed at her feet. Her arm slipped out of her sling and it suddenly caught on fire, the searing pain burning through her muscles. She tried to look up for help, but found eyes with masks edging closer to her. Her short rasps of air quickened and she cried like she did when she was 6.

"Sakura," someone cried worriedly.

The voice sounded like a death threat to her. The girl loosened her grip and willed herself to fall into the pit away from the masked monsters. She shrunk into the fetal position and tried to breathe.

"Someone get a paper bag! She is hyperventilating."

The masks and eyes scurried around her and someone stuffed something coarse against her mouth that smelled like recycled paper. She breathed through it, watching it scrunch up as she sucked in air.

"Kakashi," she tried again, before a fresh round of tears clotted her ability to speak.

"We know, Sakura, help was sent out for Kakashi."

Gentle hands reached out to her and after a weak struggle, she was powerless to them. She spasmed and twitched every now and then as they carried her back to her room, but it was passing. She lied there, curled on the bed, fingers tightly curled around her baggie. She squeezed her eyes shut.

A little less than two hours passed. Her breathing didn't return to her normal rate, but it slowed a little bit. A nurse, Makoto, came in and fiddled with her IV fluids bag, flicking the tube.

"Are you feeling better? You gave us quite a scare back there. Almost tore your elbow ligament again."

"Again?" she breathed.

"You came in with a dislocated elbow. Luckily you didn't break anything; it was just damaged muscles and ligaments so we didn't put you in a cast. Jump around like that again and your doctor just might do that."

She looked at her blotchy arm and sighed. No burn marks. It was never aflame. She felt like someone had held her head underwater only to find out that there was no one there beside her in the first place. She squeezed her eyes again and the image of Naruto on the surgical table popped up again.

"What's happening to Naruto?" she said, voice unsteady and muffled by the paper bag.

Makato pulled out a progressing lab report from a nearby machinery and said, "Sakura-san, you shouldn't worry about him. You already suffered enough yourself."

"What are they doing to Naruto?" she repeated obstinately.

The nurse gazed carefully at the data markings and wrote something down on a clipboard. Sakura felt a twinge of guilt to be a nuisance to her.

After another quick glance, Makato returned Sakura's glazed stare and shook her head in surrender. She pulled up a chair. She glanced at the clock.

"There is poison in Naruto. Beforehand, Tsunade and her team to take samples from him. They recognized the different elements, but it was just the compounds that simply did not make sense. Right now, the medics you saw in the OR are temporarily extracting the poison from him as Tsunade figures it out."

Sakura looked absolutely spent with her fuzzed up hair and tired eyes.

"Oh, don't look so sad dear. Soon, your whole team will be all patched up and okay."

"Makato-san?" she mumbled miserably, "Actually, we...we didn't...couldn't come back with the whole team. Sai..." she choked, "we lost Sai too. I don't-"

"Sai?" Makato said, "Oh right, I forgot to tell you. He's just fine, given his hand, but still, he is still better off than the rest of your platoon."

Stress renewed, Sakura's eyes flung open and she breathed heavily into the brown bag again. He's here?

"Wha-"

"Speak of the devil..." she murmured, staring out of the door.

"Ah-"

"Well," Makato said, taking Sakura's baggie away from her, "You seem to have calmed down. Press the button if you need me."

She smiled and left. Sakura struggled to sit upright, wondering what the nurse was talking about. She looked around the room, uninterested, and ran her left hand through her hair and rubbed her neck again. She rolled her shoulders as she processed the information the nurse gave her about Naruto and Sai. It feel strange to come back from a mission all by herself. Sure, she lost team members before, but never the whole team. But then Sai was here...or did she hear wrong? She rubbed more vigorously, only to sadden herself farther as she recalled Kakashi's earlier words.

_'You're doing that again,' _his past words echoed through her mind.

She was so hung up that she has even managed to create a little Kakashi in her mind. Great.

"You're doing that again," a voice said, irritatedly.

Sakura started. Little Kakashi sounded so real.

"Seriously, stop. It's getting on my nerves."

She focused her eyes to the source of the sound and realized it was never Kakashi's voice. It wasn't even a man's voice either. It was Ino. It was a cross faced Ino who was trying as hard as hell not to look distraught. Behind her was the rest of the gang she grew up with, with the odd touch of a birthday cap or confetti still sitting on someone's shoulder. They were scattered around her room.

"Sorry," Sakura barely got out before Ino gave her a quick squeeze and pushed her back again, sappy feelings all calmed down.

"You should be. What were you trying to do? Make your neck longer so it'll match your forehead?"

Forehead snorted loudly and was about to fire back a quick retort when a hand clasped on her shoulder. It was Lee and his two rows of pearly whites. His smile never ceased to amuse her. The party decided the girls had their space and closed in around Sakura.

"Sucks to for a medic to lose an arm, huh?"

"Sakura, I'm so sorry! I heard what happened to Naruto-kun..."

"Hey don't worry, the kid is too stubborn to die."

"Sakura."

She made a peculiar gurgle when the last voice spoke. It was Sai. All she could managed was a small, sighed, 'Oh.'

Sai stepped forward and genuinely smiled at her, a rare gift, and Sakura reached out to grasp his hand tightly. If her life was in animations, there'd be sparkles all around her. She realized just how much she missed him and his cold skin and coyness and pitiable longing for emotional contact. He squeezed her hand and his eyes looked excited to say something to her, but everyone tugged at her again and Sai disappeared into the back of the crowd again. The meeting was so, _so _brief. She had so much to say, but she didn't know how, with everyone around.

The condolences and questions were continued to be targeted at her and it got harder for her to breathe again. She wanted out.

"Glad to know you are feeling better."

Everyone looked over to see the incoming peach blonde. Her twin pig tails streamed behind her as she briskly marched into Sakura's room. Relief was blatant on Tsunade's face, but she resisted going up to her pupil and giving a big display of affection.

"Finally," Sakura began, eyes bright, "Okay so I've been thinking about the poison and I think if I-"

Tsunade's face narrowed down so suddenly Sakura stopped.

"Seriously, Sakura? You ran for miles, nonstop, carrying a 60 kg man on your back. You looked like a starving, half drowned cat _and _ you only have one functional hand. Did you really think I'd let someone like you into my operating room?"

Tsunade leaned closer and hissed, "And with that little episode you threw in my OR? We are going to talk about that later. But for the operation, I don't think so. I doubt you can even keep your remaining hand steady."

Sakura couldn't utter a word. She needed to be there with him.

The Hokage turned to address the whole crew and said, "Don't let this girl out of your sight."

As an afterthought, she turned back to Sakura and muttered, "Seriously, get rest and maybe talk to Sai. Believe or not, he's been really torn up over you lot," and headed for Naruto's room.

"Be careful," she sighed after her, like a fretful, tired mother of a newborn.

As Sakura watched after Tsunade mournfully, Chouji handed her a cone-shaped, sparkly party hat from his pocket.

"too early to celebrate your welcome back party?," Ino grinned.

Sakura followed her pointed finger to the hastily boxed up liqueur and take-out food by their feet. She almost laughed.

* * *

><p>Sakura woke up unhinged for the 3rd time that day. Her room was blanketed in a soft orange glow emitted by a few fat candles. Her window to the left showed nothing, but an eerie gibbous moon. She must've fallen asleep during Chouji's hospital party.<p>

Sakura turned to her side and saw Sai in a nearby plastic chair, spreading the used confetti around with his foot. She didn't know what to say to him. It had always been eye rolls and snarky remarks. It was like making good with the brother that you always picked on and had fights with.

"Hey there," she said lamely.

It was the first thing that came to mind.

Sai looked up and ogled for a while before he responded, "Oh. You're awake."

"I am," she continued.

He cleared his throat eagerly, but before he could speak again, Tsunade marched in. She shot Sai a look and motioned her hand towards the door.

"With all due respect-" he began with a hint of frustration.

"I need to speak with my pupil. Go along and make someone else's life hard to stand. You two can chit-chat another time."

A frown was etched on his face, but he still bowed and left the room, looking disappointingly at Sakura.

Tsunade stood by the girl's bed and didn't know what to make of her. Sakura was a strong girl. No matter what leverage Kakashi may have had on her, Tsunade was sure she wouldn't break down so easily for that man. She decided to go right to the point.

"What happened in the OR today? As close you may be to Kakashi, I've never seen you have a breakdown for him before."

She paused. "They told me you kept on repeating Sasuke's name when you were in the OR."

Tsunade watched the girl's face carefully for any hint on how that affected her.

"What are you hiding from me, Sakura?"

She didn't respond for a long time. She played with the sheets of her bed and stared out the window behind Tsunade.

"Is Naruto awake?"

The Hokage turned away, frustrated, and briskly paced a circle before she returned to Sakura's bedside. The girl was just as stubborn as herself and she knew, oh she knew, how hard it'd be to get information out of her.

"Fine. Don't tell me. I'll figure it out myself. You have no idea how painfully obvious you've become to me. Every emotion you feel is blatant in your eyes to me. Every lie you tell, I will be able to see through it."

Tsunade leaned into her and stared point-blank into the girl's reluctant green ones, "We've spent enough time together for me to be able to read you."

Sakura snuggled more deeply into her blankets and her brows furrowed.

"Did you get the poison out?"

"I'll tell you if you tell me what I want to know," Tsunade replied keenly.

She stepped back and sat in the chair Sai was in just minutes ago. It was still warm. Sakura made a whiny noise, but she didn't utter anything else.

"I know you and Kakashi are hiding something. I was going to wait for a more civil situation to ask you in, but you had a breakdown, Sakura. I can't have someone so unstable work in your level of expertise; it is much too high of a risk."

"It's just a one time thing, out of exhaustion and dehydration and stuff. Maybe early PMS-ing."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Right."

They chewed over their own individual problems in solitude. Finally, Tsunade stood and stretched. She headed for the door and turned back once last time and said, "I'll give you some time, but you'll have to see me soon anyways to report the mission. Better you tell me yourself then for your secret to blow up in your face."

"Good night, Tsunade-sama," Sakura said quietly.

* * *

><p>Two days later, when Sakura wasn't as strictly guarded, she decided to get out of bed. She had slept until the sun was already high in the sky. In hours, it was about 2 pm. The pinkette sat up and yawned, stretching out her sore muscles. She gurgled down some water from the plastic cup on her bedside table and swing her legs out of bed, testing them. Stiff, but steadier.<p>

Sakura threw a blanket around her shoulders and tugged the pole hanging the iv fluids along. She was now sane enough to remember that the clear liquid was only helping her. Slowly, she made her way to the washroom and tried not to recoil when she saw her appearance. There were dark circles under her eyes, and her cheeks were sunken, lips incredibly chapped. Her skin looked dry and coarse and her hair was an artistic mess. Her arm was still hung limply around the sling. At least she lost some weight.

Careful not to draw attention, she walked out, trying to locate exactly where they put her. She was in the recovery wing. After two elevator stops, she quickly (for someone dragging along the iv fluids stand) sauntered down the hallway to the circular office in the middle of the floor. A cluster of nurses were inside, typing away on their computers. Sakura leaned on the desk and peered over to the nearest nurse.

"Where is Naruto? Can you give me his charts?"

"Excuse me?" she said confusedly.

She sighed and repeated through gritted teeth, "I said, where the hell did you guys put Naruto."

"ICU, Sakura-san, 4th bed to the right," someone else butted in.

Sakura recognized his olive eyes. He used to be a fellow intern with her.

"Do you know how-"

"Tsunade figured it out," he said, grinning, "Instead of creating a cure, she had the idea of tweaking the samples of the poison so that-"

"So he's alright?" she interrupted.

Exciting medical discoveries will have to wait for later.

"Somewhat. He's not in too much danger though, and that's saying a lot, seeing the state he was in when he came in. He hasn't woken up yet, though."

"Thanks," she said gratefully and he nodded.

Sakura quickly scampered on, reminding herself to properly thank Nobu some other time.

When the pinkette pulled away the curtain, Naruto just looked like he was asleep. His heart monitor blinked happy vitals and he didn't even need an oxygen mask. She sighed and leaned on the wall, holding tightly onto her iv pole. She flicked a stray piece of hair off his forehead and chuckled faintly when a little bit of drool escaped his mouth.

She hovered over him for some time before her legs started to get tired. She should go before people start noticing how long she has been there. He would never let it go if he found out that Sakura stared at his face for almost an hour.

She flicked his forehead and said, "Wake up soon. It's not fair for you to let me feel guilty about Kakashi alone. Don't be so selfish."

Sakura pulled the blanket around her shoulders tighter and walked out of the hospital wing. At the spur of the moment, she veered a sharp right, where the entrance was sure to be, instead of going back to her room. She needed air. Sure enough, she got a face full of midday breeze and...Sai.

"Hello," Sai said awkwardly, abruptly stepping backwards.

If it was anyone else, Sakura was sure to have smacked into them.

"Sai," Sakura said brightly, happy to see a familiar face, "Can you bring me outside?"

"Of course," he said, equally lightly.

They strolled amicably along the sidewalks paved around the hospital. After the old hospital was crushed, a new one was built. It mainly consisted of a short, stout, wooden building with the same character, 医, stamped above the front entrance. After the war, Sakura and a team of medics shed blood and sweat to beautify the hospital again. The walk with Sai reminded her once again how those budgeted months paid off.

He filled the silence with a one-sided conversation about their friends, about the soft deep, lulling voice was such a comfort to her right then. She had thought Sai was dead, but there he was, trying to make small talk, being his typical self. Sai lead them to the green slope that sat behind the hospital. The building blocked out the sunlight, but at least it was quiet and the grass was incredibly soft.

"Sit," she said gently, motioning the space beside her.

He walked beside her and was just about to lean down when Sakura pulled him into another hug. He stood absolutely still, bunglingly so. Sakura knew it was weird, but she couldn't resist. It was payback for giving her so many sleepless nights filled with nightmares of a bleeding Sai.

"Okay, I'm good," Sakura pulled back, business-like.

He sat, somewhat bemused.

"What happened to you? The last time I saw you, your guts were exploding all over my hands."

Sai looked dryly at her and said, "I don't know. I remember being cut and seeing your face that time. I remember being trapped in a box and transported to their hideout. I lost consciousness during that trip, but when I woke up again, my stomach still hurt, but it was stitched up."

He looked down at his hands, "It smelled terrible there, that I remember too."

"How did you end up back here? Why would they let you go?"

"I'm not sure. I was hit in the head and dropped just outside of Konoha. That's all I know."

"Did...you see your captors?"

He looked at Sakura and tried to read her as he said, "Some. I did see Sasuke-kun once, though."

She tried not to flinch.

"He just walked in and looked at me. Didn't say anything, just walked in, looked at me and then left."

"I'm sorry I let you go," Sakura said softly, touching his arm, "I don't know-"

"It is alright. You don't control your emotions. I hear that it can make you do stupid things."

She smiled at him and let go. That had to be the longest conversation outside of work they had in a long time.

He fiddled with his fingers and both were still at a loss for words, but it wasn't an uneasy silence. She looked at him.

'It's so easy to be around him,' she thought, surprised. He had already called her ugly so many times before that Sakura hadn't bothered to worry about her appearance since...forever, it seems.

"We found your little finger," she said, out of the blue.

Sai looked up, mystified and lifted up his four-fingered hand, "You mean this one?"

She laughed quietly and smiled, "Yeah, it was still in perfect condition when we found it. We brought it with us 'cause we thought you might've wanted to preserve it in a jar or something."

The corners of his mouth lifted and said, "That is very thoughtful of you, Sakura. May I see it?"

"Oh, it's in Kaka-" she broke off.

It was in Kakashi's pocket. Which was miles away. Alone. Probably dying.

Sai didn't pester her about it afterwards; he looked like he got the feeling that it was one of those things that you just don't prod at. He was getting very good at the feelings thing.

They sat there in silence for god knows how long. It was nice though; it was the sort of a comfortable silence that you could only share with people who didn't make you feel pressured to speak. They could still enjoy the playful breezes in a serene sort of solitude even after worrying their guts out about each other before.

"Oh!" she said suddenly, standing up.

Her head spun at the sudden movement.

"Oh..." she said again, dizzily this time.

"Sakura?"

"I had a present for you," Sakura murmured, rubbing her temple, "If only I knew where they put my clothes."

"Another present?" Sai responded, mildly amused.

Sakura could tell their was an excited little lad underneath that distant mask of his.

"Yeah, I had it in my pocket. It's this really nice pen...oh, you'll see when I show you. Come with me, I'll ask the nurses."

And so begun the adventures of Sai and Sakura. As her days past, they were constantly bromidic and dull. She was checked out of the hospital after three days, but was only given small, intern-worthy tasks at the hospital. She was once even given a D rank mission to 'role model for the younger generation,' as Tsunade putted it.

The mission report was the only somewhat nerve-wracking thing that happened to her so far. When Sakura explained how Kakashi misguided them on the goal of the mission, Tsunade was rather angry than shocked. She ran through the details of the mission and of the people she saw.

What she failed to mention was how long she was with Kakashi. She said briefly on how she met up with Kakashi shortly before they found Naruto. Then according to Tsunade, the long runs in the forests and warm nights in the motel ceased to exist.

In return for her elaborate account, Sakura was rewarded with the news that a platoon, Genma's, was sent out for him. Now, everyday since, she has been waiting for news of them. All the while they spoke, Tsunade constantly hinted back to Sakura's little 'accident' the day she was admitted into the hospital. Sakura didn't mention it once and quickly left before Tsunade could give it a second thought.

* * *

><p>"Was there a lot of 'em?" a little girl's squealed, bringing her back to reality.<p>

"Uh huh," another voice, probably a boy's, said cockily, "Hundreds! All real bad and mean."

She had promised Shikamaru that she'd go see Kurenai's child today at the preschool today. He confessed that he felt incredibly awkward around kids and hoped she could help. Sakura though, could tell it was a poorly executed plan to have her busy and focused on something else other than her pretty much comatose friend and missing comrade. It seemed like the whole village thought she was mentally insane. One short breakdown in public and you're branded for life. Combine that with her sad little sling she _still _had to wear, she was now officially Konoha's 'little stray cat.'

She was walking by the elementary school when she spotted the sources of the voices.

"Wow!" the little girl giggled excitedly, braids bouncing, "That's so cool! You so lucky you saw him!"

"Uh huh, I was the first one to spot him. _I _told everyone that he was here! He patted my head and said I was real good help. Uh huh," the boy smiled proudly and lifted his chin.

He crossed his arms and nodded sagely as the little brunette continued to gush over him, sashaying her orange dress as she blushed. Sakura smiled sadly at the couple as she passed by them. She use to be hung up on someone just like her. The pinkette shook her head vigorously, and rubbed her neck with one hand. She walked faster.

"I can't believe you and Kakashi-ouji are that close..." the little girl continued dreamily.

Sakura froze.

"Ouji?! He's no prince! _I'm _the-"

"Kakashi?" Sakura butted in urgently, "You saw Kakashi Hatake?"

The children stared at her, wide eyed, gaped mouth. She was leant over them enough to cast a shadow.

"Ummm...yeah, I was training outside of Konoha and then I saw him walking towards us so-"

She ran.


	9. Chapter 9: Jagged Severance

**Chapter 9**

**Jagged Severance**

Faster.

She needed to run faster.

She bunched up the front of her shirt with her free hand and tugged, gasping desperately for breath. Her healing elbow throbbed and bruised, but the pain dug into her skin and sharpened her senses. Her eyes teared up in defence, reminding her that she'd pay later for abusing her arm. She pumped harder.

_I need to see him._

Her chest burned and her stomach was cramping up. She stumbled to a stop, her protesting feet finally heard. Sakura looked up and whirled around, desperate for a glimpse of the nin. Where was he?

* * *

><p><em>From her position on her living room floor, she tilted her head up to catch a glimpse of the calendar. It has already been two full days. Sakura smiled weakly as the thought circled through her head. She lied back down, feeling the faint trembles of her hardwood floor. She has already survived two full beautiful days since Sasuke left her at that place.<em>

_Now it was just like back then, when she was still in that frigid, barren place, unmoving and unable to; even back in the comfort of her own walls, she felt no better. The sun kept on streaming in through her windows and its warm rays only made her want to become even smaller. She was convinced she didn't deserve the comfort of it. _

_His words circled back to her, teasing and prickling her delicate feelings again. They tortured her and it made her nose burn the way it did just before salted water gathered at the rim of her eyes. It was like back in the school days when every comment scraped away another piece of self-confidence. Young Sakura didn't know what to say to those cruel snarls; she simply submitted and tried not to cry. It was terrible to feel so small and weak, but her heart was just that. She'd do anything for anyone; there was no need hurt her feelings. _

_So how could people be so mean? _

_Sakura was still pathetic like that. To hurt over and over again, over words that he had shed without a care. Her blistered fists did nothing to stop him from snaking through her nonexistent cracks to poison her thoughts. She has to stop. But god, it hurts so much. _

_She took in another deep lungful to fill up that hollow spot in her chest and pleaded to herself stop this torment. Slowly, Sakura shuffled into a crossed legged position. The girl scratched her head and didn't bother to stifle her yawn. She stared at her wooden clock, hung up above her calendar, only to feel even heavier. _

_Where was Kakashi? Everyday since, exactly at 10 in morning, he'd appear by her door like a shinobi reporting for duty. A quick two tapped knock would be followed by a strangely comforting session of silent company. He'd simply sit himself down on one of her armchairs, after setting out the takeout on the kitchen table, and pull out a book or any tedious paperwork. Kakashi would stay there for hours on end, treating her living room as his office. He never tried to pry things out of her or scrutinize the girl under an analytical eye._

_When he left the first night, she was alone for the first time since he found her. After that terrifying night by herself, Sakura counted down the minutes until Kakashi came along again. _

"_I feel so miserable," she called out softly, her voice cracking._

_She couldn't dwell in her sad little hole of depression forever. People will notice and when people notice, they ask questions._

_Maybe he just wasn't coming today. After how she pushed him last night, maybe he thought it meant that she didn't want him to come back anymore. It had started out just fine, like every other day he came._

_Sakura had met him at the door that day, at the same time as everyday before then. As soon as she opened the door she walked back to her position on her armchair, uninterested. He always made himself at home, unpacking all the goodies from his paper bag. Two takeout cartoons were placed side by side on her tea-table, and a stack of slightly crumpled working paper was the last to come out.. _

"_This one," he motioned to one of the cartons, "is chicken, the other is pork. Take your pick."_

_Kakashi sat on her couch and pulled out two pairs of chopsticks with a bundle of napkins from his magical, bottomless paper baggie. He slid one over to her and split his, rubbing them together to get rid of any unwanted splinters. Kakashi opened both of the cartons and placed his hands back on his hip. He looked at her with anticipation._

_She just kept on staring out the window. _

"_Pork it is then," he said with amusement, grabbing the chicken for himself, "Never been much of a pig person myself. Must have been religious in a past life."_

_She sighed, gingerly took her food and eating utensil and pulled her legs up onto her chair. She had picked at the food and continued to gaze out the window. Somehow, she always felt like she needed to give Kakashi the courtesy of not looking at him while he ate. It followed the same standards he granted her with: don't ask, don't look. However disappointing it was, he never ate long anyways. It's like he had an extra mouth on his stomach because his cartons would be wiped clean in inhumanely time. _

_The sound of ruffling papers filled up the air and this carried on until Kakashi was done with each one of his mission reports. The lights were on by then and Sakura somehow made her way beside him, curled up on the couch like a pet cat. He yawned, stretched and rubbed his eyes. He glanced at her clock and sighed. _

"_Hey," he said softly, "I've got to get going now."_

_He looked down at the pink mop of hair and ruffled it to make sure she was actually awake._

"_Can't you stay this time?" it replied. _

_She couldn't see the expression on his face, but her skin tingled underneath his scrutiny. He didn't say anything for a while, but felt the faint tug of her hair every now and then as he played with it._

"_You know I can't."_

_She turned onto her back to look straight up at him. He _did_ look spent. _

"_But you always say no. I'm better when you are here."_

_He looked up at the ceiling and contemplated it. _

"_You know I'm not even suppose to be here, Sakura," he said, gazing blankly at the wall, "It's not..."_

_Appropriate. Neither of them has said anything about that boundary, no matter how close they've come to it at times. It was like one of those moments when you think ,'what the fuck' inside, but don't actually do anything about it. She didn't like that he was finally trying to talk about _it_. It pissed her off how much of an effort she was making to _get better_, but that he'd just shut her down and walk away every time._

"_Well you are," she said angrily, "so why _are_ you here, Sensei. God knows what people will start saying once they realize how often you come visit your student."_

_She began to reach out a hand to his face. "That's what scares you, huh? That's-"_

"_Enough Sakura." He caught her hand._

_She fell silent when he released her hand and the couch bounced a little bit when it lost the pressure of his weight. Her pride didn't let her apologize. She felt his anger fuming as he packed though, a silent rage he always kept to himself._

"_I guess my visit here is done," he had said briskly, straightening his papers into a neat pile. He headed for the door as Sakura stayed uselessly on the couch. _

"_Night." He closed the door behind him. She has been alone since._

_Alone, there were only her memories left that could keep her company. They crowded around her, playing more vividly the more she tried to shut them out. She felt Sasuke again, shaking her shoulders, urging her to comply with him._

_There was a knock on her door. _

_She froze. Her stomach felt sick with eagerness she didn't want to let herself feel. There was another tap. Sakura bolted upright and very nearly raced to the door, eyes glistening like an addict. She didn't even bother to look through the peep hole; she unfastened the locks as fast as she could and wrung the door open. _

_For a second all she saw was the shadow cast by the person standing in front of her. Deja vu smacked her in the face and an all too familiar spell of nausea overcame her. She staggered a little bit before she gathered enough clarity to look up and see who it actually was._

_It was just Kakashi with one arm cradling a paper baggie and the other up for a wave. _

_Sakura crushed herself against his chest. She took him in, heart fluttering like a rabbit's, and held on tightly to his vest. She didn't realize how scared she was until she felt herself teem with relief. She almost believed he wasn't coming today. She almost believed that she'd have to be alone for another full day again. _

_But her pulse didn't slow at all. Instead, the relief only got swept up by the panic, carrying her to her peak again. Sakura started shaking. _

"_You're late," she choked._

"_What..." he started stiffly before stopping. "C'mon, let's get inside first." _

_He closed the door behind him. Sakura could feel a big sigh leave his chest. His stance loosened and he leaned against the door as Sakura tried to calm down. He hesitantly rested a hand on the top of her head, the other trying to hold her up; she was trembling to a point so violent that she was almost convulsing._

_It was going to happen again. She head butted against Kakashi's chest and stared at the floor, breathes barely squeezing out of her narrow airway. She was sweating and shaking, but above all, it was the fear that held her at gun point. It was all-consuming. It swallowed her whole, spat her back out only to drag her down into its depths again. The fact that she could no longer remember why she was so panicked scared her even more._

_Kakashi rubbed his hands up and down her arms as he lead her to the couch. She struggled the whole way, fingers tangled in her hair._

"_I thought we were past this stage," he muttered. _

_Kakashi quickly dumped out the contents of the bag and held it up to Sakura's mouth. He tried to gently, but firmly wrench her hands off her hair to properly hold it in place. _

"_Come on, Sakura, just breathe, it'll be over soon," he murmured._

_She squeezed her eyes shut, tears beading out, and shuddered again, as if she was trying to shed off her panic attack. _

_The minutes ticked by and her spasms were reduced to numbing twitches. When she regained back some balance, she shifted over and leaned against him, seeking small comfort. Sakura didn't do anything for a while except breathing in through the bag and watching the world fuzz up a tad bit every time his heartbeat caused her head to move. One of his hands was tucked neatly between his stomach and her while the other rested on the top of the couch._

"_Didn't see that one coming," he said suddenly, breaking up the silence. _

"_No one actually anticipates panic attacks," she rasped out quietly. _

"_Thought this stage was over," he drawled out again, "You told me that after a set amount of time has passed since you last attack, it meant you will no longer have any. You were doing so well."_

_He inquired as if he knew the answer. She weakly tried to wobble up into a sitting position only for him to slide off and ease her back down. He pulled a pillow under her head and walked to where he unloaded his cargo on the kitchen table._

"_Well, I lied."_

"_I know," he responded, sounding amused, "However, I was hoping that the truth wouldn't come out like this."_

_She felt heavy as lead so even anger didn't revive her. She just lied there in discomfort, willing the ache to leave faster._

"_You should have realized that I already have at least some sort of experience with...anxiety. Fought in a few wars, remember? Not all nins are able to cope with the constant deaths and living conditions. Many a time has the buddy next to me started convulsing and screaming about nothing."_

_She glared at him and tried to regain some sort of dignity. Sakura was still tipsy though. She felt strangely light, like she was partly defying gravity. Her chest, however, was heavy and tight. The aftermath of her attacks were never pleasant nor overly vexatious. _

"_It was really quite routine for me back then."_

_She didn't say anything in return. She didn't want to ruffle his feathers again. However cold her demeanour was, she was still glad he was here to help her cope. Being a medic and all, she knew she was getting better. Be that as it may, the small build up of stress staged the perfect platform for another attack. The tiny window of time when she thought it was _him_, was enough to trigger another reaction. _

"_What is all that?" she asked, staring dumbly at the lunch boxes._

_He raised an eyebrow at her tepid attempt at small talk. _

"_I brought bento today. A cartoon of eggs and bread too, actually."_

"_Another two days and you'll become a full-fledged house wife."_

_Kakashi smiled and crossed his arms. _

"_Looks like my queen of quips is back." _

"_I..." she said, sitting up (out of pure stubbornness). He strode back over with the food and sat down beside her_

_Sakura continued quietly, "I'm sorry, alright? I shouldn't have crossed the line yesterday and...I didn't mean to..."_

_She couldn't finish. He looked at her for a few seconds, studying her profile, before he reached over and grasped her knee. She looked at him. _

"_I know." _

_He resumed carrying out his banal activities and opened his bento, leaving the elephant in the room be. Sakura did not address it anymore either because it was obviously a touchy subject to him. For once his professionalism showed cracks and Kakashi wasn't doing anything to patch them up. Maybe she was only over thinking everything and this wasn't as big of a deal to him as she thought it was. Perhaps he was checking up on her with simple concern of a preacher. Either way, she didn't want to think too deep into it. If she did, she felt like it would ruin everything and she liked the way things were right then. _

"_Aren't you going to eat that? It's apparently packed full of protein and contains all the nutrients a youth should take at every meal."_

"_I don't exactly have a good appetite," she said dryly. _

"_More for me."_

_She looked under her stubby tea-table for the remote. Sakura blew some of the dust off and pressed the ON button. The mini telly blinked to life, playing a static-y soap opera. _

"_What's this, jokes AND tv? I should be tardy more often."_

"_You have no idea how ironic that was."_

_Sakura imagined he grinned, but her eyes were fixed on the screen._

"_I'm just saying, what's with the sudden good mood? I'm done eating, by the way."_

_She breathed deeply, slightly annoyed with the lingering side affects of her attack. "I thought about it when I was...like, here. I decided that I needed to stop this self-pitying. As a medic, I should know better than anyone that I can't rot here forever."_

_Sakura looked back at Kakashi, who had another unreadable expression on his face. It might have been outline of his mouth quirked up through the mask. _

"_I wasn't actually serious when I asked you; I know how irritated you get about being pestered..." he paused and continued quietly, "But thank you for telling me, Sakura."_

_She switched her attention back to the tv. _

"_I swear you sound older than me now," he mused, extending his monologue, "Most teens get pratty and self-assured. You just become sagely. I don't know if this should be worrisome or not."_

"_Well, I _was_ brought up by _you_ so I think I still turned out just fine."_

"_T__ouché__," he said smiling, reaching out to ruffle her hair._

_Kakashi ditched the rest of his duties that day. Maybe it was actually his day off, but Sakura liked to think he chose her over his work that time. She glanced over at him once, amidst their 'drama-mocking marathon', and had to bite her lip to stop herself from smiling. She almost blushed. The old man really wasn't bad at all. He was great._

_After that, he continued to come for a few more days. On the day before the last, Sakura tried to convince him to bring something 'snazzy' next time to celebrate her decision of finally going out again. Something like red wine perhaps. He showed up the next day with a pair of pink and yellow wine coolers and almost giggled out loud from the thrill of sneaking her one of those. She rolled her eyes at him, but they had a good night nonetheless. Sakura's little girl crush only flourished more._

* * *

><p>Sakura started crying before she knew it. They flowed freely from her eyes, leaving behind little bits of her shield in their wake. He was here, so close, yet she couldn't find him. She needed to be back by his side. The girl came to an abrupt stop and suddenly crouched down, huddling around her knees. As her blood pounded through her ears, she tried to think. Where would he be?<p>

The hospital.

* * *

><p><em>She self-consciously smoothed down the side of her hair. It wasn't sleek and shiny or anything, but at least it was presentable. Her other hand was occupied by a brown paper bag from take-out. Sakura thought it would be hilariously<em> _ironic if she showed up at his door with food for him. She's never done this before, but she really wanted to see him again. Here goes nothing. She smiled to herself and stepped forward to knock on the door._

_After Kakashi's frequent visits, she finally popped back into society again. This is the first time she has seen him since his last visit so she wasn't prepared for the angry expression Kakashi had when he opened the door. After the shock registered on his face, it looked like he was ready to chuck her off of his doormat and lock the door. Her eager anticipation turned into humiliation and regret. She felt so stupid there, standing unwanted outside of someone's doorsteps._

"_Who is it, Hatake?" a baritone called out. _

_She froze. He had guests. An actual growl escaped his throat and he cursed silently. His eye conveyed clearly how vexed he was. Before he could form a lie out loud, he turned around to see that his guest was already behind him. Sakura didn't know him, but she's seen him once or twice in the local pub with the usual rowdy clique. His eyes widened curiously._

"_Well look at that. Who's this little flower, all dressed up and fresh, standing out here for you, Hatake?"_

_Kakashi frowned at Sakura and started in a light tone, "Oh it's just-"_

"_Isn't she your student?" _

_He froze and another man emerged. Her ruefulness grew deeper and she wanted to disappear. She placed him into such an awkward and difficult situation. _

"_Student?" The first man repeated, his joking tone suddenly switched into disapproval. _

"_Yeah...yeah, yeah, it's her. No one can forget those pink locks," he continued, "Haruno-san, right?"_

_She didn't dare meet the man's eyes. By the sound of his voice, however, she knew him. He was part of the platoon that usually oversees the deliveries of anaesthetics from Suna. Hideo Kase. Sakura looked to Kakashi for guidance, but he wouldn't meet her eyes. _Oh, shitshitshit. What have I done?

"_It's not what you think," she blurted out before Kakashi could smooth things over._

_A pile of rocks tumbled into her chest. She could see the lights go off in the men's eyes. If they didn't suspect it before, it was definitely out there now. _

"_Why is Haruno-san here at your house?" the man that she didn't know said._

_Kakashi's silence only made the situation more stiff. She felt the two men scan her from her head to the take-out and down to her scrunched up toes. She could only imagine what circled through their heads. Taboo. Shameless. Sickening. _

"_Sakura, what _are_ you doing here?" Kakashi said bitingly, playing innocent._

_She could only stare up at him like the trembly doe caught in the three looming headlights. He abandoned him on this. She tried to stutter something out to save Kakashi and herself. She looked past the men into his apartment, frantically searching for an idea. She met Genma's frowning eyes instead. She could feel her eyes burn, with the threat of tears knowing he was here too. _

_Her heart beat faster. Her grip tighter. She wanted to bolt._

_Suddenly, Genma started laughing hysterically. The guys looked back at him stupidly. _

"_What the fuck is wrong with that bastard?" 'flower' man said, irritated. _

_Everyone looked dumbly at him until Genma wiped a tear dramatically from his eye and beamed at Kakashi. _

"_Man, you should have seen your face! That look of terror; I thought you were going to squeal like a little girl. Ahahaha..."_

"_What are you talking about?" _

"_Well," he grinned at Sakura like they shared a secret together, "it was all me and this little angel right here." _

_He pushed himself off the couch and strolled forward with a slight spring in his step. He didn't stop until he was right in between Sakura and everyone else, and slapped her shoulder continuously, like someone would slap their knee at a corny joke. Kakashi's door was getting awfully cramped. Kakashi looked uncomfortable, constantly sneaking looks around. Genma noticed. _

"_Let's all go back inside, gentlemen. You too Sakura; I can't take all the credit."_

_Kakashi looked more than happy to retreat back into the safety of his opaque walls. Kase and 'flower' man were reluctant, though. They weren't children that were easily herded into the classroom with a promise of treats. _

"_Have you two already aged into such old men that you can't even take a joke? Come on," Genma taunted, becoming impatient._

_Treats were useless. Their egos however, were priceless to them. _

_The lot followed Kakashi back inside. When Sakura made the move to follow, Genma squeezed his grip on her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks. She caught Genma's humourless look before he marched them in to join the men at Kakashi's couch. _

"_So would you like to explain, Genma?" Kakashi said quietly. He didn't look at Sakura, but knowing him, she knew that he had already calculated his options and decided Genma was his best way out. The brunette plopped down onto the sofa and stretch out his hands on either side. Sakura sat down beside him, close enough to be in the safety of his reach. _

"_Aww, Kakashi, not you too? Am I the only one here that doesn't host cheese and wine tasting parties nowadays? Don't take things so seriously! I was just looking for a laugh."_

_Genma paused for effect and rolled his senbon between his teeth. He leaned his head back and peered down at the men, disappointed. _

"_It was just a prank, alright? All of you work too hard. This has been the 5th meeting in a row we've been in to amend the importing procedures now. Konoha isn't going to crumble just because we decide to take a day off or something. I just wanted some fun. I mean, who actually reads through the entire terms and conditions before signing off packages anymore?"_

_She stared at her clasped hands in her lap, anxiously wondering if they bought it, but too scared to actually look up and see for herself. _

"_Tsunade-sama insisted," Kase mused._

"_That's beside the point. What prank?" 'flower' man growled. _

"_Fujikawa-san," Genma started, exasperated, "Don't you ge-"_

"_He sent my student to my doorsteps, looking as if arriving for a date inside, just when he knew we were having a meeting," Kakashi said, almost smiling at Genma._

"_The take out was all Sakura actually; it was a nice touch though," Genma winked at her. _

_She almost deflated with immense relief right there and then. She knew they've known each other for a long time, but it has never been reflected as well as it has before this. _

_'Fujikawa-san' snorted and shook his head while Kase tried to hide his relieved smile. _

"_This was not a funny prank, Shiranui," Fujikawa said irately, "You took it too far. Teacher student relationships aren't to be taken lightly. You could have seriously damaged Hatake's-"_

_Kakashi butted in, "It's alright, Fujikawa, Genma only did so with good intentions. It's true that we've worked tirelessly on this. _

"_Sakura?" he said, causing her to abruptly stiffen. "Sorry that he had to pull you into this stunt of his. If he asks you to do anything...unnecessary again, you don't have to mind him. He abuses his jounin status too much," he continued, drawing the attention back to Genma. _

_It was just the two of them now. Her brief moment in the spot light of his eyes was gone and now he was back with his buddies. She disappeared into the background. _

"I _do? How many times have you used your reputation to get away with duties and bills?" _

"_Well that's because I've gotten to the point where I _can_ use my status to save up my time and resources. Can't say much about you though."_

_Genma laughed, delighted and said, "Oh snap!" _

_Sakura allowed a small smile to settle itself onto her lips. She liked this new face of his. Kakashi has never been that quick to her. They've always had their debates and retorts, but after seeing him with his friend, she realized that there was always an edge of politeness to him. He was never this open and frank with her like with Genma. She envied that. Sakura accidentally caught Kase's eyes. Her awkwardness returned. _

"_Ha...yes," Kase chuckled, "But why don't we take up Shiranui-san's idea? How about we end the meeting and just take the day off. We deserve it. Haruno-san is probably aching to leave."_

_He glanced at Sakura and she saw sympathy flash through his eyes. _

"_It's aa-" her voice came out squeakily. She cleared her throat and tried again, "It's alright." _

_They stood up one by one and walked to the door, chatting. Sakura followed behind them feebly. Kakashi was the last to stand. She was dying to find out whether his stare was burning a hole in her back or if it was her paranoia. Kase bowed a polite goodbye and Fujiwaka apologized for his behaviour, gruffly introduced himself and left quickly enough to hint to her he didn't really want to be acquainted with her. _

"_See you all next time," Genma called out cheerfully._

_He resumed talking about nonsense with Kakashi and Sakura tried to take this opportunity to bolt._

"_Sakura," Genma said sternly in a low voice._

_She watched mournfully as the silhouettes of the two men disappeared around the corner of Kakashi's apartment. _

_She turned around and braced herself for when she made eye contact with him. His jovial mood was gone. He only had a dead expression left on his face for her. Kakashi was silent as well, leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. _

"_I don't know what is going on between you two, but keep it in check because there won't always be someone there to cover for the both of you. Sakura, you should have known better."_

_Her brows burrowed together and she almost trembled under his disapproval. She watched him share a long look with Kakashi before he started to leave._

_When he passed her, he gently patted her shoulder and said more softly this time, "Just be more careful. The decisions you make will affect Kakashi as well." _

_He smiled at her and left. Left her alone with Kakashi. The moment she has dreaded ever since she heard another voice in Kakashi's apartment has finally come up. She almost cost him his... _

_But it ended out fine, didn't it? Maybe she was blowing everything out of proportion. Besides, he's been visiting her at her place for a while now anyways. Maybe this didn't really matter. Her clouding doubts were getting tiresome._

_Nevertheless, his silence didn't do anything to comfort her. She watched as he pinched the bridge of his nose and sigh. He looked like he could barely contain himself from lashing out at her. _

"_So what did you come here for," Kakashi asked calmly. _

_She could still see the takeout bag that sat on his kitchen table through his open doorway. For a second, she was consumed by a wave of spite towards him. He clearly knew why she came. He was still putting her on the spot. It was like the time when Kakashi left her to think of an excuse when they were caught at his doorsteps. She began to think that when it comes down to it, she will have to fend for herself._

_She wasn't going to succumb to him, though. "I figured I'd bring you lunch to thank you for everything."_

"_We could have just grabbed lunch somewhere. You should have came and asked me out in the open first."_

_Sakura could still feel his accusations through his composure. She wished she could be as collected as he was._

"_We never just 'grab lunch somewhere,' you always come to me. So why is it so bad when I do the same?" she said, her upset tone giving her away._

"_Because you were in no such state to do so." _

_She stopped at his blatant reply. Sakura realized how much of a brat she behaved to him then. _

"_Sakura," he said, looking as if he didn't know what to do with her, "you can't just stop by at my apartment whenever you want. People only ever believe what they see."_

_He looked away and shifted testily around. "I am you teacher, Sakura. I can be like your friend and I will always help you where I can, but_ _do not come to my very doorsteps without being on a professional basis." _

_She was speechless. His words tore grotesque wounds inside her. She felt he was gutting her alive, taking her up into his hands and squeezing her, leaving her alive enough so that she could still feel the pain. _

"_Do you hear me Sakura? There...-"_

"_I get it, okay?," she said angrily, her jade eyes burning with scorn. "I won't."_

"_And when I came over...I was...I was just trying to help you through the hardships. You understand right?" _

_Her budding sweet affections for that man were suddenly just embarrassing fragments of her thoughts that she became to loathe. How could she be so stupid. So naïve. _

"Please,_" she said in a shaky voice, "You're just in denial. Too afraid to admit it?" _

_She wanted him to hurt too._

"_Are you afraid of what I can do to you if you stick around me too long? Huh?" she challenged him._

_His eye widened, offended, and Sakura immediately recoiled. She did it again; taunting him in a way she'd later regret. Bridges burned and everything said, they watched each other until Sakura muttered, "What ever. I said I get it; I won't come find you again."_

_She walked away, as normally as she could, but the moment she turned the corner and disappeared from his sight, she ran all the way home, leaping and weaving through town like she was chased by the devil. She slammed her door behind her and wheezed, out of breath. As she slid down her back against the door, she suddenly remembered the take-out food she left at his place and started crying because she'll never get it back._

_Days past and they haven't spoken since except for two quick hellos. Once when her group of friends spotted him at a café they were at and two, when he and a nurse barged into the room Tsunade and herself were training in. _

_Eventually he found her and Naruto one day and asked them to go on a mission with Sai. She accepted politely. He nodded and set off. Neither of them really acknowledged or talked to each other. They had ANBU masks on in broad daylight. She watched him walk off to continue his daily routine. She felt hollow._

* * *

><p>She ran for it, pumping her arms so hard, her injured arm ripped free from the bandana that secured it against her chest. The pain burned through her veins and electrified her nerves.<p>

Her legs were heavy and she was getting dizzy. Sakura's vision focused in and out, making it difficult for her to walk in a straight line. Her shortage of exercise during her recovery did her no good. He had to be in there. She pushed through the doors, a hand pressed against her temple. Sakura pushed into the hospital and looked around frantically.

"Sakura-san?" a worried voice beckoned to her.

She made eye contact with the mousey nurse at the front desk. She stumbled forward and tried to form her question between her shallow breaths.

"He's here," she said eagerly, understanding the look in her eyes, "Come with me."

In the end, she couldn't do it. She had to see him. She had to be near him. The pull was too strong.


	10. Chapter 10: Charades

**Chapter 10**

**Charades **

* * *

><p>Tsunade hasn't done anything for the past hour or so. A pile of documents, to be reviewed and signed, sat side by side her board of 'to-do' stickies Shizune organized for her. In the center of it was a blazing, neon yellow sticky that chirped, 'Review Chunin Exam Write ups!'<p>

She groaned out loud and heartily groused about the hardships of life. Depressed and unmotivated, she _oozed,_ for the lack of a better word, out on her desk, her head miserably slacken against the table. At the edge of her peripheral vision, she saw the two bottles of saké hidden under her desk. She squirmed in her seat.

'I'm going to save them for tonight,' she thought tragically. _But surely such a dire situation could be an exception._

'I really shouldn't,' she tried to insist. _Just a little bit, Tsunade. You may as well._

Resolve shattered, she quickly perked right up and reached for her beloved wine. She kissed the neck of the glass and took a deep swing straight from the bottle. Happy, Tsunade swerved her swirly chair around and gazed out lovingly at her village through the wide windows. Everything looked warmer with alcohol humming in your veins.

She watched Konoha bustle around, the people the size of mice, meeting and breaking off with other fellow mice. She liked to people watch, while they nosed around the market, joked with the cashier and check themselves out in compact mirrors when no one seemed to be looking. It entertained her to no end and she liked to pass time like this as the head of Konoha.

Tsunade squinted when a particularly fast mouse sprinted pass the woman she was watching. It was a flash of red and pink that ran in an odd jagged pattern, as if it was hurt or something. Sakura. The blonde leaned closer to her window and frowned, watching the girl abruptly stop, and start running again just as suddenly, finally disappearing into the hospital.

What was wrong with that girl? She shook her head and turned back to her desk. Sakura was already handicap. She couldn't cause any real trouble now, anyways. She ignored it, licked her finger and took the first page from the pile of paperwork.

* * *

><p>She pushed through the doors, a hand pressed against her temple, looking around frantically.<p>

"Sakura-san?" a worried voice beckoned to her.

She made eye contact with the mousey nurse at the front desk. She stumbled forward and tried to form her question between shallow breaths.

"He's here," she said eagerly, understanding the look in her eyes, "Come with me."

Her legs immediately gave way. On the way down, Sakura's cries erupted from her throat. Her sobs racked her hunched frame, causing her to choke on her own breath. Several heads popped up, concerned and curious, while the nurse quickly skipped around the counter and patted Sakura's back.

"Sakura-san, everything is okay, everything is okay," she repeated soothingly.

By now, everyone knew about Sakura's episode in the hospital a while back so the nurse wasn't about to let it happen again. She tried to tilt the girl's chin forward so they could make eye contact only to realize the girl was smiling. Sakura was smiling at herself. The pinkette placed a hand against her forehead and weakly laughed, her eyes shiny, but clear.

"Man, am I a mess," she joked, her voice pitchy.

The relief was blatant in the nurse's eyes, but she just smiled and asked, "Why don't you go rest in the on-call room? I can even set up a bed for you if you'd like. The hospital has been pretty quiet lately and-"

Sakura shook her head and squeezed the nurse's hand. "I'm fine, let's go."

As the nurse led her down a familiar hallway, Sakura didn't know how to mentally prepare herself. She has always been on the other side at these situations, the doctor. Even though she knew many of her patients already, there was still that distinct boundary of the professional medic that kept her safe from the worrisome persona every visitor, of a patient, donned.

She was torn between asking the nurse for his charts and a detailed summary of his injuries...or holding her breath and looking at him through the eyes of just Sakura, his pupil. To see him just the way he looked and not have to worry about any internal bleeds or invisible complications. To leave all that hard stuff for others for once because she didn't think she could handle...Kakashi.

"I want to see his charts," she said abruptly, interrupting their silence.

More than anything though, she wanted him to live.

"I would be happy to show you his charts, but..." The elevator lights buzzed in rhythm to the robotic tings that signalled every floor they passed. "I won't be able to allow you into the operating area or even the gallery."

The final ting ringed and the elevator doors opened. Sakura fumed beside the nurse as they continued walking.

"Not this again! I told you, I can-"

"Sakura-san," she continued nervously, "Right now, you will only be a...liability to him. Kanpo-sensei is with him right now so you don't have to worry."

"Kanpo?" she frowned, "You brought in the corps?"

"It _is _Kakashi-san, after all."

Sakura smiled tightly, her heart heavy. She wanted to scream in a pillow, run around in a circle a few times and throw a tantrum on the floor.

"We are here." she paused in front of OR 6's doors. Naruto's had been in OR 2. "Sakura-san, we are only going in for a quick glance, okay? You will have plenty of time later to watch him recuperate. I really shouldn't even let you in, but you _are _part of-"

"I promise I'll be quiet."

When it comes to medicine, she could turn into a kakashi herself. With her wits intact and everything, she fell into her medic self. Composed. Indifferent...kakashi.

The nurse pushed one of the double doors open and led her into the scrubbing part of the room, where the taps of the sinks still dripped beads of water. Even though a glass wall separated them, Sakura could hear the hmph and sighs of the ventilator on par with the cardiac monitor's beeps. The medics in their white scrubs all crowded around the operating table, the fluorescent overhead beams turning their heads white. If she squinted hard enough, she would've seen specks of grey peeking through the bodies of the surgeons.

The nostalgia was overwhelming. It was so ironic that she started to believe there really was an almighty God up there that controlled the lives of humans. It felt like just hours ago Naruto was as helpless as him, vulnerable and open on the table. She shuddered to think of Kakashi like that...vulnerable. It actually made her uncomfortable.

Her resolution faded and she became a meek deer. Sakura didn't go in, even if she was allowed to.

"He okay?" she whispered.

She didn't want to startle the beeps and humphs of the machinery, scared she would trigger some sort of accident in the room.

"We'll find out soon enough."

* * *

><p>Sai was back on regular shinobi duty. His doctor had deemed him mentally and physically recovered, but that also meant that he was stuck with the most banal missions. It was an unspoken tradition. The longer period one is active, the better missions one will get. Every time a shinobi takes a vacation, gets hospitalized or say, gets their pinkie chopped off, their time resets to zero. Sai's time was exactly one day. Not very impressive.<p>

So that was how he found himself moving boxes out of a rotting warehouse on an otherwise beautiful day. The degrading wooden walls filled the place with a thick musk of driftwood, mixed with the slightest tinge of sourness likely coming from the boxes.

A thin layer of sweat covered his body and he stopped for a second to run his hand across his forehead. Then, he rolled his shoulders, grasped the next box and almost missed it. Almost. Just before he turned around to stack the cardboard box on the impressive pile outside, he spotted a patch of bright pink. It was a pink lunch container, the kind that had four little wings on each side that clicked when the container was closed shut.

Sai had to take a double take to make out what it actually was because it was almost completely camouflaged by the rusty paint splattered on it. The funny thing was that he could see the _S_ of _Sakura _scrawled on it and he _knew _that it was hers since he'd seen her use it a couple of times. Yet the even..._funnier _thing about it was that on close inspection, it was definitely not paint and definitely blood.

* * *

><p>"An absolutely miraculous recovery, really," a fumbling nurse remarked as she flicked the little glass tube of the uv drip, "It's almost frightening how well he is recovering. I guess an elite like himself must be equipped with a super immune system. I can't believe I get to be so close to him right now."<p>

She looked over at Sakura's blank face and let out an embarrassed titter.

"Aaaaaand I'm whining to one of his team members. Right. Awkward. Anyways..." she trailed off.

Sakura tried to quirk her lips into a quick smile, but it turned into a grimace instead. She didn't have the heart to. Because there was something in the room that repulsed her. She was beginning to break into cold sweat. Kakashi was less than a metre away from where she was yet she wanted to bolt. There was something _sickening _in the atmosphere that she couldn't exactly pinpoint, yet it was strong enough to remind her of its presence every other minute.

The nurse scribbled the last of her notes on his charts and walked out.

For the first time, they were alone but this was definitely not what she had fantasized the reunion to be like. God always has an uncanny knack to give you the one result or future that you'd never think would happen.

"Just wake up won't you."

She rubbed her eyes with her hands and sighed deeply.

"Alright."

Her eyes flew open and connected with Kakashi's. His face was turned towards her, gaze mild and amused.

"Holy shit you-"

"Don't tell anyone," he shushed her instantly, eyeing her keenly, "I want some time with you first...Haruno Sakura."

"The fuck-"

"Foul mouth I raised you to be, I see..." he mused.

Sakura snapped shut, shooing away her previous misgivings to give room for the adrenaline. She crept closer to him and stared him right in the eyes, studying his small wrinkles and pale lashes. She then turned straight to the pupil and fell in, absorbed in the vast pits of his heart and soul. They weren't close enough to kiss yet not far enough as not to be intruding into each other's personal space.

"How..."

Are you here, are you alive?

"Are you?"

Kakashi scoffed, and said, "good."

She was speechless and uncomfortable. Her endless supply of witty quips was nowhere to be found. Kakashi drew a hand out from under the sheets to pat her shoulder, an awkward movement.

"I will come see you later, Sakura, we shouldn't talk here. For now let me rest. And don't tell the nurse I've waken up, would you? She sounded jittery enough already."

Mesmerized by the lilt of his voice, she could only agree numbly. "You come find me straight away. Or I'll fucking hunt you down instead."

For a moment Kakashi stared at Sakura, the strokes on her shoulder stiff.

"Okay chick-a-dee, of course."

She smiled at him and squeezed his hand tightly before scurrying out of the room.

Her heart unclenched the moment she walked out. Sakura carried herself out of the hall, out of the hospital and down a few blocks before she was able to coax herself to stop.

"What am I going to do?" she whispered softly to no one in particular.

Yesterday she would've trudged through hell and heaven to see his eyes look back at her. Today, she was driven to hide from him like a cockroach to the sun. The terrible things Attachment does to a person.

* * *

><p>As Kakashi watched her go, he blew out a low sigh. He lifted the his sheets and stared at his bandages mirthfully. He peeled back all the gauze and rubbed the pink new skin underneath, grateful to finally satisfy that itch. What he'd give to free himself of all that stuff white cloth.<p>

A shuffle could be heard from outside his room.

"Hey give me his charts, I call shots on this round. You got to drool all over Hatake last time."

He groaned softly to himself and braced himself.

_'What fool actually volunteers for this crap_,' he thought to himself.

Another hearty sigh escaped his lips before his eyes rolled back and his pink new skin started to tear again into precise surgical incisions. He threw in a few recovering scab for good measure. When he pulls this off, Sasuke better love him for it.

* * *

><p>With every stride he took, his cotton satchel brushed against his thigh, swaying in rhythm to his footsteps. Normally, it wouldn't bother Sai as nothing really did, but every brush only reminded him all too soon again of the little wrapped up box he felt extremely uncomfortable carrying.<p>

'She _is _a medic after all,' he tried to reason, 'a shinobi at it too; blood is like a little dirt or dust to her now.'

His strides quickened.

'She must've took it to a battlefield once. Must've stored a transplant-able organ in it once.'

However, lately, Sakura has worried Sai much more than he would've liked. He was bright enough to know that she wasn't just annoying Sakura anymore, but a collaborator with Kakashi. Those two were such a troubling pair. Back in his Root days, they should have been reported the moment Kakashi ordered him to withhold information. But they were also much too important to him for that. He really did care for the girl and he was worried that this cumbersome lunch box might be a piece of evidence to a puzzle she doesn't want solved.

First he needed to make sure the evidence was in a secure place. Then he'd need to gather up enough courage to confront her about it.

In the meantime, he would find the other partner in crime, Kakashi. Sai went straight for his apartment, but his analytical eyes stopped him from knocking. The keyhole was scratched and scraped as if a frustrated soul attempted a quiet break-in.

* * *

><p>In a single day, Kakashi was already well enough to limp around the hospital. Or so she heard.<p>

The pinkette hasn't been back to the hospital since she fled it with her tail between her legs, not even for comatose Naruto.

Instead she opted to celebrate life by eating alone at the blonde's favourite ramen stand. Chopsticks untouched and soup cold, she fled into her internal daydreams for the nth time that year.

"No good?"

Sakura snapped back in place to find Ayame scrutinizing her.

"It's the best," she said absent-mindedly, picking up her chopsticks to stir around the congealed noodles.

The naruto slices bobbed back to the surface. Images of him waking alone consumed her more wholly than her fear of Kakashi did. She pulled out a few bills, and quickly marched to the hospital.

Naruto was suppose to be out of the ICU by now, but due to Tsunade's (and hers) protective nature, he was still stationed there, just to be sure. After a few initial scares, his conditioned has stabilized. He still needed a nasal cannula for enough oxygen, but he was going to be alright.

Sakura ran her fingers along the cream hospital walls as she made her way to his private room. The lights casted a warm glow on the speckled white floors. She turned another quiet right continued walking down the hall, peering into the door windows to catch a glimpse of Naruto. Her hand was just a breadth away from the doorknob when she stopped, frozen.

The sight of Kakashi made her knees weak again. It had never really registered until now that well, _he was here. _She stood there, hovering outside the door staring in. Even through the tinted window she was mesmerized by his wispy grey strands and silhouette and the shape of his arm stroking Naruto's face. Stroking? No.

Her fond haze quickly dispersed into frenetic doubt as she realized he was not so much as stroking as tugging. Her hovering hand slipped from the doorknob and Kakashi's head snapped up.

His expression was of a man caught red-handed. He immediately jerked back his hands and went for the door, eyes narrowed and jaw set. Instinctively, she turned to run like any smart prey. Just when she managed to whip around and take her first stride, a hand snaked out and dug its fingers into her arm.

"Sakura."

Although it frightened her, she had to look at his face. Wait, why was she frightened? His headband was pulled up and his eyes were so keenly focused on her it hurt. His face broke into a soft smile.

"Hey" he said softly, his grip turning soft.

His winning grey and scarlet orbs made her deflate, forgetting what ailed her just a second ago. "Hey yourself. What are you doing here?"

He looked at her with mild surprise and gestured at the room, as if the answer was obvious. "Naruto, what else? He was my pupil, after all."

It didn't sit well with her, but she let it go.

"How come you're out of bed so early?"

He smiled and scratched a non-existent itch on his neck, almost sheepishly. "I was pretty darn lucky. Nurses told me that non of my vitals were damaged."

Her face twitched a little as she processed Kakashi's lie. She could've sworn that the data she saw on Kakashi's charts, when they first wheeled him in, ranged from fatality to a comatose state. She shook her head slight; Kakashi was likely still strung on pain meds.

"I..." she began. Her voice was caught in her throat just like the first time she saw him since he got back. The dying daylight bled a toasty citrine over the room and she caught one of his hands in both of hers. She squeezed tightly for a second, much to his surprise and sighed loudly.

"What the hell happened to you?" she asked, "You...you don't just prepare yourself for that shit and come back totally unscathed-"

"Unscathed?"

"And leave me to drown in my own worries and guilt and my god don't act like everything is okay, because you are _not _okay and I am _not _ okayandthis-"

She broke off suddenly, her breath quick.

His eyes studied her curiously, light dancing off his moving pupils as they tried to figure something out. They softened as the imaginary lightbulb went off.

"We're in love, aren't we?"

Sakura's gaping mouth and silence was all the confirmation he needed. He whistled softly as the girl tried to stutter something comprehensible.

"Teacher and his student. Some hole Kakashi dug up for himself," he murmured to the window.

She looked up, confused and said, "What?"

"Nothing," he smiled, his mind racing.

What does he do now? He shook his head with exasperation. This changes the entire profile he was given, the entire game plan. Haruno Sakura and Hatake Kakashi. Who saw that coming?

Sakura's heart palpitated roughly enough to quiver her entire body. Having heard him say it out loud was a cross between a breath of fresh air and having her head dunked in water. He said they were in love. Once given the label, Sakura could not let go of that idea. That she was in love with him and that that love was mutual. This was something she never though Kakashi was able to understand, much less say out loud.

She cupped a timid hand around his cheek and tugged gently. Kakashi acted on the cue and leaned forward while she wrapped her hands around his neck and opened her senses to his body. But underneath all the overwhelming signs that screamed kakashi, that uneasy nausea just wouldn't go away.

She pushed herself off of the cliff and tried to take a leap of faith. This was only going down in two ways.

"Won't you kiss me," she whispered in his ear.

"Of course," he hummed quietly and nuzzled her jaw line.

She allowed herself to close her eyes for just a second, bathing in what Kakashi's affections would've felt like. How his warm breath tickled her cheeks, how intimately he held her, like he would give the world to her. Every pore on him bled out his scent, seducing her to hold on tighter. Then, she abruptly drew back, eyes clear and focused. The real Kakashi would've never obliged.

"Who are you?"


	11. Chapter 11: Coats of Identifications

**Chapter 11**

**Coats of Identifications**

* * *

><p>Kakashi stared at the girl with mild hurt in his eyes. "Sakura it's -"<p>

"Stop it."

She effortlessly manifested a kunai and pointed it towards his neck. She shouldn't have ignored the signs. It was like the war and the Zetsu clones again. She should've realized.

The duo stared at each other long and hard before Kakashi finally crossed his arms and scowled at her.

"What gave me up?"

She was still hoping he would deny it. She recoiled in disgust, abhorred by the thing standing in front her, wearing her teacher's skin. Maybe she was more revolted by the fact that she fell for it so easily.

"This is still his body, you know," he smiled as Sakura discreetly leaned away from him, "Though I do rather miss mine. Your dearest Kakashi must be thrilled to experience having my beautiful orange locks."

"Are you a Yamanaka?"

He scoffed and looked at her with amusement. "No I'm not some long-lost cousin of your beloved best friend. Besides, my technique is far more superior than that Mind Body Switch Jutsu; our very souls switch places. I can live my entire life in this body if I wanted to. Pluuuus, I can manipulate this body. Literally."

"Fuck up," she said through gritted teeth, unnerved that he had background information on her, "I'm bringing you to the Hokage."

"Yes let's," he agreed with mockingly eager compliance,"It must be a relief to finally get this you chest. Oh the ache of having to keep Sasuke all to yourself. No need for secrets anymore, now, is there?"

She stiffened and realized how slippery her grip has become from her sweat.

* * *

><p><em>She traced small circles in the dust with her index finger. Her eyes were dry, but swollen and she had an ear pressed against the floor. She turned onto her back and stared blankly at the wooden dark ceiling. Night must have fallen; in the bright morning glows, when she would lay there beside him, small streams of white light would seep through.<em>

_But it was completely dark now. The shed she came to to see him was finally empty of him. She was abandoned._

_Goosebumps riddled her skin._

_Abruptly, she shifted out of her state of catatonia and opened her mouth to let out a hideous scream. It was laced with bitterness, anguish, but most of all confusion. She couldn't think straight. So she stuck to basic things: close the mouth, swallow, wet the chap lips and open again for another vocal release._

_It came out as a soft groan._

_The rickety door opened with a slam, allowing faint moonlight to seep in. The man who was breathing laboriously in front of her froze, the tips of his silvery hair quivering. Her two bright green eyes peered back at him in the darkness, wide and unoccupied. He fled to her and kneeled, his expression fearful. Quickly, he turned his head to call for back up, but her arm jerked violently to grab his hand._

_Her mind was sharp enough to feel the humiliation. Her body was barely covered with what remained of her uniform and fact that her team leader found her like this was shameful enough; she couldn't have him carry her to the hospital as a weak, scraped up, and exposed girl, ready to be devoured by prodding questions and remarks._

_He cupped both cheeks tightly, his expression sick with worry. She immediately deflated. It was Kakashi. The same Kakashi who teased and mentored her. The same one that would pick up her crying self when no one was looking and babied her until she stopped sobbing over splinters and scrapped knees._

_She leaned in and wrapped her arms around him in the way she learned to growing up, because it was a natural habit built out of familiarity. He was solid. He was stable. He was her anchor now._

_Slowly, he tried to shoulder off his vest without jostling her too much, and cocooned her in it._

_"Sakura," he hissed urgently, his chest vibrating against her cheek, "what happened here? Who attacked you? Are they still here or did they leave? You have to talk to me if there are threats lurking around."_

_Here it was, the promise of relieving the ache of having to keep Sasuke all to herself._

_"No more...no more Sasuke," she breathed out, immediately regretting it as soon as it left her lips._

* * *

><p>"Oh? Did I hit a nerve there?" Kakashi's skin asked satirically.<p>

Sakura looped a finger through the kunai's bottom ring for a better grip.

"I'll do anything to protect Konoha."

He smiled, the fabric on his face wrinkling. "You hesitated."

* * *

><p><em>Kakashi immediately scowled and started to stand up again when she clamped her hand over his, squeezing until her knuckles became white.<em>

_"This never happened. Please."_

_For a moment there, all she needed to save was herself. Sakura just wanted to forget and move on. For a moment, it didn't matter that he was a wanted rogue; she needed to slam this door shut and march the hell away._

_He eyed her keenly, long and hard, as her eyes filled up. He lightly traced his thumb along a checkbone._

_Then, Kakashi made a reckless decision which set the dominoes that will continue leading him astray. He gently hushed her as he opted to pull her closer. He sandwiched her against his chest and urged her to wrap her legs around his waist. At a brisk pace, the copy nin was careful to keep to the shadows. He continued to leap slow enough to blend into the night, but hurried too, as if the devil was nipping at his heels._

_While he picked her lock, her grasp on him was as tight as ever. He squeezed her closer while she tried to rest her cheek on exposed skin on his neck, seeking comfort._

_He gently laid her down on her carpet next to her couch, in the dark. The sudden shock of cool air against her chest again forced her eyes open. She looked down and in the absence of his arms, saw the bits of dust and scratches that reminded her again of his abandonment. Her anguish renewed._

_"Get it off," she wheezed in a strangled voice, rubbing her skin raw with her stubby nails._

_Kakashi immediately carried her to her bathroom and gently into the tub, careful never to stray too far for too long as he gathered things and flipped on a light. As the steaming water ran, he tugged off her ruined clothes, keeping his contact brief and professional. He gently cupped her cheek with the wash cloth, wiping away the grime to reveal her flushed skin. Her eyes were downcast and shadowed._

_All those budding sentiments she cut off when Sasuke walked out on her were given the green light again, making their way into her blood stream once more. Sakura whimpered softly as he scrubbed._

_Kakashi kept himself behind her back as he washed. Her humming light and the trickling sound of water filled the silence. He gently lifted her hair and brought some water up to her neck, rubbing it steadily. He leaned over and drew the cloth over her calves and knees. It felt good. It felt really good._

_With nothing left to wash, he finally, noticeably uncomfortably, turned to her front and looked into her eyes first. He timidly brushed a wet strand of hair away from her forehead and switched his gaze back and forth from each of her eyes, searching._

_The girl was completely naked in front of him, her legs scrawled modestly in front of her, her nipples taut from the cold. Yet, she met his gaze unabashed and then he reach forward and draw the cloth over her thighs, stomach and chest. She closed her eyes and felt him gently press the rag on the underside of each breast, nudging them ever so slightly. After Kakashi abruptly withdrew, her eyes fluttered open and she watched him wrung out the cloth at the sink. Grabbing a towel, he urged the girl up and wrapped her up._

_Feeling a little safer, she relaxed and leaned her weight on him. Hardness nudged her thigh as soon as she pressed against him, making Kakashi stiffen. She didn't move from her spot and they both ignored his erection as he wrapped her up, and lifted her out of the tub, grunting. She absent-mindedly rubbed her wrists when he drew away from her again, looking for some clothing. Eyes closed, Sakura tried not to focus on her now throbbing sex; it only added to her humiliation. When she opened them again, he was already in front of her, holding a t-shirt over her head. His eyes bled relief when she was covered up, and Sakura vaguely felt disappointment. She sunk back to the ground, suddenly exhausted and tried to rest her head on her knees before his hands reached for her again._

_"Let's get you to bed first," he said quietly, finally breaking the silence._

_Her teacher gave her his hands, palms up, and instinctively, she accepted and leaned in, encircling his neck in a tight grasp. He sighed and lifted her up while her legs found their place around his waist, resting on his hip bones. His stiff bulge rubbed against her every so often as he walked her to the bed. Heat and moisture built up between her legs, and unconsciously, she tried to press herself tighter against it. He carried on placidly, and dropped her on her bed. Her arms lingered stubbornly on him so he hovered over her, a hand on both side, his gaze patient, but inquiring._

_Sakura was desperate to lock herself in another corner of her mind, far from where she stored Sasuke and the feelings that followed. She pushed up the metal head band to see his face in full view. No, not yet. Her heart quickened as she drew both hands to the edge of his mask. He made no move to stop her, his gaze unchanged. Slightly more spirited, she dug her fingers under the thin material of his mask, and tugged. She was enthralled._

_He was so handsome._

_His jawline was lined with his 5 o'clock shadow. Her eyes lit up as she traced the white scar near his chin, all other thoughts dismissed. Sakura lifted her head slightly and grazed her lips against it, feeling him exhale heavily on her cheek. His heat radiated from him at that proximity and she had an urge to pull him to her. He still hadn't moved an inch. She could hardly even hear him breath._

_Sakura sunk her head back onto the pillow and stared up at the man above her, as exposed as she felt. She hoped he understood how eternally grateful she was to him for leaving her alone and staying by her side at the same time. Finally, she eased up, closed her eyes, and curled into a loose ball._

_He stood up from the bed and watched her for sometime. Softly, he groaned and stepped into his shower for a cold shower, but he only got hard again; bits of Sakura's uniform were scattered at the foot of the tub. He stayed there until his feet got numb and then he briskly got dressed and walked out the door._

_Unbeknownst to her quiet, sleeping form, Kakashi found a brunette stunner that night and charmed her into her place. He ripped the clothes off her and fucked her hard and fast, finally finding release._

_Sakura woke up the next morning like a bleary kitten, pawing and stretching underneath her sheets. It took a while, but she finally managed to open her swollen eyes, effectively waking herself up. She lied on her side for a few minutes and frowned. Her anguished and tormented self didn't wake up from last night's sleep, but the memories definitely stayed. Very crisply in fact. Surprisingly, she didn't exactly feeling like wailing over Sasuke again. It was like the moment after a long hard crying session and you just sit there, curiously empty and lighter, letting your mind wander to the next most random thought. Like what's in the fridge. _

_Or like Kakashi and how she just couldn't stop thinking about him. Her embarrassment was kissed by excitement, covered with curiosity and confusion and drizzled with a bit of horror and delight sauce. Eventually the sauce drowned her sweet delicacy as she imagined Kakashi's point of view. Oh, the horror fully submerged everything else._

_There were a few raps on her door. She almost dissolved in a puddle of unhappiness; she absolutely did not feel like entertaining. God. She pleaded to the small hand of her clock, quivering below the 10, that the person would get the hint._

_The door unlocked. She bolted upright._

_"I don't appreciate having to break in. I prefer being invited," Kakashi called out._

_He juggled a few take-out bags and some folders in his arms, emptying them on her counter. All her misgivings seemed foolish the minute she saw Kakashi. Sakura immediately ran to him and hugged his torso tightly, giving him a full, closed kiss on his mouth through his mask. He didn't do anything about it, but simply looked twisted a strand of her soft rosy hair on his finger, thoughful. Finally, he detatched himself from her and ruffled her hair with a smile._

_That day, Kakashi stayed until the moon sneaked up on the sun. Then, the next morning, he showed up at 10 again._

* * *

><p>"Chick-a-dee?"<p>

His saccharine tone shook her out of her stupor. All her little missteps up to this point was finally coming back to bite her in the ass. She shouldn't have begged Kakashi to choose her over the village. She shouldn't have even allowed Sasuke to slither so close to put herself in that situation. Now, as desperate as she was to come clean and incapacitate the man in front of her, she couldn't, fearing the consequences Kakashi would have to face because of the shit she dragged him into.

"What the hell does he even want," she said hoarsely.

Kakashi's skin bathed in his victory and responded," Tsk tsk. Where has your head been all this time?"

She stared blankly at him.

"Na-ruh-to. Naruto. Naruto, Naruto, Naruto," he whined on, "Always Naruto."

"Jesus, why?" she demanded, her anger flaring again when she sneaked a glance at his sleeping form beside them.

The imposter leaned in and stared evenly at her, the amusement gone.

"Just to talk, Sakura," he said quietly, "Nothing else."

"About what?"

"You'd have to ask him yourself. Any time now, actually."

He drew back abruptly and grinned a shit-eating grin.

* * *

><p>"I've always wanted to lock up that asshat," Suigetsu remarked, smirking, "He gives me the serious creeps."<p>

His irritated fellow guard scoffed. "You do remember that he's not actually Tori right now, right? He is in Hatake's body...idiot."

Suigetsu turned his smiling face to the quiet form and said, "Humour me. As long as that's Tori's skin, I can pretend. Were you there when he made his skin open up all over the place when we were eating, just because he was pissed. Like, no one wants to see your guts when they are putting food in their mouth. Geeze."

Karin narrowed her eyes at him and said, "Well the creep is doing a hell of a lot for us right now, so shut your trap."

"Little fucking chick-a-dee, let me show you all the creepy shit I can do with my body," shark boy continued in a high pitched squeal, high on his righteous compaign, oblivious.

She didn't even bother this time. Wistful, Suigetsu deflated at the lack of enthusiam from his audience. As he leaned back and gazed blankly at the concrete ceiling, he sucked on the sharp tooth that jutted out from his lips.

"I really hope this is all worth it, ya know," he said to no one in particular, "I don't think Sasuke thinks right when it comes to his ex-team mates."

"He's thinking fine," growled a low timbre.

The guards straightened up to see the Uchiha walking towards them.

"It's time to go. Anzai is already waiting. Take Kakashi with us."

Suigetsu unlocked the bars and dragged out the prisoner. He straightened up and peered at his captives evenly with his bright yellow orbs. Orange waves tumbled down to his shoulders, accompanied by a matching sunset, horseshoe beard.

Sasuke stood before the gangly man and said, "You help us get in and Sai remains intact."

He watched Sasuke's profile intently and mused, "This is awfully elaborate, Sasuke. If you really just wanted a conversation with Naruto, he would've readily come to you."

The Uchiha turned around sharply and regarded his ex-sensei through his companion's face with something that may have resembled a sneer.

"Naruto's heart belongs with the village. He would only hesitate for so long before he came for my neck."

Kakashi looked down at his foreign hands and body and sighed a foreign sounding sigh.

Sasuke heard Kakashi expel another soft sigh when the troop was literally 10 feet from Konoha's border, their presence veiled with the help of Anzai, an impish, blue-skinned recruit's jutsu. The sun was lying down and the work day has come to an end. When Tori had switched back to his real body for the briefest second, too fast for a disorientated Kakashi to actually realize he was back in Konoha, he gave Sasuke the signal. Now they here, 1 hour later, just as planned. He knew that Naruto would be in the hospital, but according to Tori, he was unguarded. Tori also said her name; she was there.

The unwelcome memory of when he went to see Sakura for the last time slipped into his thoughts. He was furious and hurt then because for a split second, it was revulsion that coloured those pretty green eyes. She was suppose to be an exception. There had been some comfort in believing there would always be at least one soul out there that still doted on him unconditionally.

Foolishly, he felt betrayed, even though she shouldn't have been close to actually betray him in any way. So Sasuke wanted her to squirm, to fear him, to solidify the image of the monster whose existence she had kept denying.

Now, he had no one...no one, but Naruto. So like a genocide escapee going to find another fellow escapee, years after everyones forgotten the event, Sasuke wants to see Naruto again. See if he can kill him, see if he can make a connection with him. See his former friend and see the place he had called home. Such a simple word can cut deep for an itinerant.

"Suigetsu, you take Kakashi to his apartment; Tori got in and left it unlocked. I will go to Naruto with Karin and Anzai. Keep him quiet and stay put until I come back. And don't make a commotion."

Suigetsu and Kakashi had already flickered out of the space by the time Sasuke finished.

* * *

><p>Sakura's pupils dilated as she tried to process what the man in front of her just said.<p>

The sun has sunken lower from when she first stepped in and by now, it shadowed the trespasser's face and blinded her.

She could actually feel his presence without turning around. Are you afraid, Sakura? Are you afraid, are you afraid? Fuck yes.

She looked behind her back, right into his dark, livid gaze. They had smiled at her once before, not too long ago. She barely paid attention to the others he came in the room with.

Sasuke's eyes widened and then chilled abruptly. He couldn't do it after all, cut her out and make her fear. He would rather she just disapear.

"Get her out of here."

She winced at the sound of his voice. A...teal creature yanked her arm, and surprisingly, she didn't put up a fight. You grow up with someone. They hurt and you try to help, but they leave nonetheless. Then they come back to you, but this time, its you that hurts them. And now they've come back again. What are you suppose to do?

"What do you want, Sasuke," she choked.

"Why is she still here?"

When her demon finally, literally found her, she now wanted nothing more than to run to him and demand to understand. She couldn't leave her Naruto laying there defenceless. Everyone always seemed to forget that he was but a boy when he was given the fate of the Nations in his hands. Surviving made him a leader, yes, but it broke him some.

She was ready to throw the blue man through the floor, but he reacted quicker and wrenched her arm into an awkward angle behind her back. The searing pain was only amplified by her still tender muscles she had torn on the escape back with Naruto. She looked down to find new blue marking on her skin that glowed brighter the weaker she felt. Sakura wished she never looked down because by the time she looked up, her captor was already carrying her away.

"What the hell do I do with you now," the blue man mumbled to himself, his snowy gaze irritated. "Guess I may as well bring you to Suigetsu."

The streets blurred into navy static and she found herself waiting as Blue, she nicknamed him, opened Kakashi's front door. What?

"Anzai? Why the fuck did you come here-" Suigetsu paused mid-sentence when he saw the feeble and pale Sakura.

"Really? ANOTHER ONE? Is Sasuke really that melancholic? That's his entire team now...God..."

He quickly shut the door behind them.

"She was in the way."

Sakura kept quiet as they argued, accessing the place, trying not to let everything Kakashi overwhelm her. She wondered if his pillows smelled like him. She tried to ride the waves of yearning that hit her with an uncomfortable intensity. She needed to get him back.

So far, it seems that only five outsiders were in her village, including Sasuke. Suigetsu and Karin's powers she remembers, and deducing by how anemic she feels, Blue takes chakra. The funny thing about the fifth outsider was that he looked like a prisoner too. Maybe he tried for a one man mutiny. She gazed at his orange hair and human enough features and looked into his yellow eyes and stopped. They brightened at the sight of her, and almost automatically, an unabashed smile lit up his features.

Sakura shivered. What a creep.

"Ok whatever...just whatever he wants," the shark boy waved him off, no longer interested in the conversation.

He strode to Sakura and gave her a face full of his purple irises.

"I hope you can keep in check your notoriously fiery temper for a bit. We don't want any unnecessary trouble," he smiled, "because you see, Karin has become a terribly jittery lass these days. If something doesn't goes as planned, she might panic and might forget how to cure Naruto."

She stiffened.

"Oh what? You really didn't really think that Naruto could wake up on his own now? It's not medicine Sakura, it's a new jutsu. Your petty medic procedures are thoughtful, but ultimately useless. Oh, and don't forget the bombs dear old Tori planted around the place when he was here...the one in Sai too, the by way. Now go sit in the naughty corner."

She gasped, livid. Again, she didn't see the signs. How sketchy was it that Sai came back, alive and healthy? She fumed.

Tori. So that was the bastard that possessed Kakashi. Blue dragged her to the other prisoner's side, and dropped Sakura by his feet. She looked up and caught him trying not to grin. She narrowed her eyes at him and hovered a hand over her limp arm, trying to heal it. Meanwhile, she pondered whether to gamble or wait this out.

Her skin prickled beneath her companion's stare. She met his, quizzically, and watched him study her.

"Hello," he said quietly with a soft funny lilt to his voice.

If she didn't know better, he was happy to see her, as if the poor bastard had been kept in solitude all his life. Well, he seemed harmless and better yet, he might be willing to plan an escape with her.

"What are you here for," she responded, gesturing weakly at his matching, blue glowing wrists.

"For trying to save a girl," he said, amusement gleaming in his eyes.

"How romantic. What happened to her?"

He smiled and looked at the pacing men in front of them. "Well, she found me again."

Her brows furrowed and she edged on,"And?"

"What about you?" he said, moving the spotlight, "How did a dainty one like you get caught up with these guys."

He choked at the 'dainty' part. Was the bastard laughing at her?

"Screwed up childhood," she dismissed.

"Do you know where we are?" he said politely.

"Uh...friend's place."

"Good friend?"

"Great. Except he kind of sucks."

"Hey, from what I've seen here, he doesn't seem too bad. Efficient furnishing, tidy place and even a little greenery by the window. He must have a wonderful personality too."

"He is wonderful. And obnoxious. And tardy and distant and frustrating and sometimes I want to crack his skull open to see what the hell goes on in there. Hot and cold and cold and warm, all the fucking time. And the annoyance is always one-sided which only vexes me, even more, so much that all I can think of most nights is his silence."

He watched her evenly and spoke with a neutral tone, "I gather you don't enjoy his company too much?"

She grew distant and smiled. "Are you kidding me? I use to grovel for his attention. He was like an idol."

She blushed as he gazed at her with genuine surprise. Strangers always had more success wrenching out her heart and sticking it on her sleeve.

"How?"

She chuckled and caught Suigetsu watching them with a what-the-fuck expression. When he didn't comment, she just went on.

"I did a lot of embarrassing things to get him to notice me, actually. Like everyone else, I was smitten with the great Konoha Legend. There was also the general buzz that he had the face of a model, but I bet he started that rumour himself."

He frowned. "I don't think that-"

"We use to get dango together every week. Once, he mentioned his vain quest to find scented candles because it smelled like rotting carcasses in here at one point, or something like that. Right afterwards, I spent hours scouring the village for them and turned up empty-handed. So of course, I go straight to the library and research how to actually make candles because I was just that desperate."

The prisoner stared at her with wide eyes.

"I know, sad right. It also costed me my allowance that time, buying all the ingredients. So I made a few batches and after picking the prettiest ones, I brought them to him, saying I found them in my attic and-"

He groaned softly

"Ha, I know right, it is bad. Turns out he already found some sweet-smelling herbs to fill his place with."

"If you told him, he would've readily taken your candles with gratitude," he said, exasperated.

"And have him find out how...obsessive I was?"

He chuckled and rubbed his hand behind his head. Just like Kakashi use to. She turned sad again.

Just then, Tori (in Kakashi's body) and Karin opened the door.

"What are you guys doing here," Suigestsu immediately demanded, "How could you leave him alone?"

Karin began, "He insisted-"

"Where is my body?!" Tori immediately interuppted.

Suigetsu rolled his eyes as Tori took a few long strides to where the prisoner was sitting with Sakura.

"Sakura," Tori quickly winked at her and then sneered at the prisoner beside her.

"Your mask is profane. it's like you enjoy being suffocated. Stand up and I'll like to take my body back, thank you very much."

"What," Sakura gurgled out.

Tori smiled at her and said,"Admit it, chick-a-dee, Kakashi really is hell of a lot more charming with my pretty face, eh?"

Kakashi? She looked at the sheepish man with orange hair beside her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Sorry for the obscene amount of OCs. (Anzai = Blue imp thing, and Tori, the fake Kakashi)

Thank you very much for reading


End file.
